Frosted Wings 2: Rewound Memories
by WritingPoke
Summary: A year after the death of beloved politician Kyushei Ryuu, a detective receives a call from Mayor Zao, asking her to clear his name from the incident. Taking it into her own hands to find out the truth, she sets out on an investigation that will change Shang Mu... (CANCELLED, REMAKE ON THE WAY)
1. Prologue: The Day Begins

**Prologue: The Day Begins**

Light snoring can be heard in a small Shang Mu apartment. It was rather early in the morning, a few hours before the first rays of sunshine could peek above the horizon. In the bedroom where the snoring emanated from, a panda with messy, vivid blue hair wasn't in a position most would deem comfortable for sleeping. But then again, with how her days typically go, it was understandable that the woman was sleeping like that.

A voice could be heard from an alarm clock nearby.

"Good Morning, Central Shang Mu!" The voice jovially greeted the brand new day. "Today is November 15th, 2010, and it is a beautiful day outside! A high of 68 Degrees, low of 40, with a chance of showers later in the day. Be sure to bring your raincoats!"

The panda stirred awake as she drowsily got up, sitting upright on her bed as she stared at the floorboards beneath her feet, sliding into a pair of pink slippers as she got up and turned on a coffee maker. The coffee maker would make a wet, draining noise as the hot brown liquid poured into a cup.

"Today, Mayor Zao reveals his plans for a "Battlesphere", an absolutely _massive_ public works project which would broadcast sporting events and arena matches to a wide audience in Shang Mu." The voice continues from the alarm clock. "People from all walks of life can watch the Battlesphere's construction take place in the Entertainment District of Central Shang Mu, as it is scheduled to be completed in 4 years…"

 _Shame this is where all of my tax dollars go to._ The panda sighs as she takes the coffee cup and takes a sip, spitting it out soon after. _Wait… Did I accidentally buy Decaf?!_ The panda thought, wide-eyed as she looked at the coffee. Sure enough, it was Decaf, completely against what she had hoped for in regards of a refreshing drink of coffee.

"In other related news, the approval ratings for our Mayor have gone _up!_ From 30% to… 31% since last month." The voice chuckled. "It seems that even with the planned revamping of the Commercial District, the poor Mayor just can't seem to catch a break!"

Minato looked at the alarm clock and sighed, turning it off. _I'd rather not have politics ruin my morning, thank you very much._ She thought as she made her way to her closet, pulling out a pair of long, dark gray pants, a blue shirt, brown coat, and gray knee-high boots, putting on the clothes exactly in that order.

She would then move to her bathroom across the hall, brushing her teeth with a green toothbrush and some blue toothpaste. When she was done, she spat out the frothy liquid from within her mouth and moved on to eat her breakfast at her kitchen.

Breakfast for Minato was a bowl of artificially flavored and colored Zao Flakes, combined with whole milk next to a small orange. Minato had a folder detailing a whole bunch of cases she had to deal with later in the day.

 _Four sudden heart attacks in the middle of the streets of Shang Mu since September 2010, a robbery from the central Shang Mu bank back in October…_ Minato sighed. _I wish I had more help with these cases. Everyone else is too busy with that Kyushei case and they won't help me a single bit. It's like some sort of race to see who can get their name in the history books first._

Minato then put her dishes in the sink and threw away the scraps of the orange she just ate as she left her apartment, going to an elevator as it slowly descended.

Next to Minato in the elevator was a businessman and a construction worker, looking just as tired as she was. Perhaps even _more_ tired, given their badges that signified them as government workers.

After the elevator descended completely and opened its doors, everyone in the elevator left immediately, leaving Minato as the last person out of the elevator. The panda would proceed to the garage next door and enter a small gray car. It wasn't much, only being able to hold two people, but then again, she didn't live with anyone else anyways.

The car revved to life as Minato turned the keys, the vehicle leaving the garage as the radio continued with the news broadcast.

"In other news, Senator Long has died of a heart attack in the middle of the street after giving a speech for a local charity." The newscaster spoke. "This is the _fifth_ time an event like this has happened recently, and despite lack of evidence for any singular suspect, police believe that these heart attacks are all somehow connected."

Minato had heard of the heart attacks before. In fact, a few of her cases were regarding these heart attacks. However, try as she might, she couldn't get a single person as the culprit. Either this was just some deadly coincidence, or the actual culprit performing these heart attacks was somehow doing it from afar. But she couldn't be so certain regarding that.

Eventually, Minato reached the Shang Mu Investigative Offices, a smaller office building where most of Shang Mu's private investigation work took place. It wasn't anything special, but it was exactly here where Minato was in her element.

Entering the building into the waiting room, Minato already saw a few people waiting for the services of a PI. But then again, Minato didn't recognize anyone, and she never received any calls regarding a scheduled appointment. They were more than likely waiting for someone else anyways.

Minato then entered her office… And immediately fell asleep, the decaf getting to her.

 _Brrrrring…_

"Mmmmhhh…" Minato groaned as she slowly got up.

 _Brrrrring…_

Minato looked over at the phone she utilized as her work line, seeing that it was vibrating.

 _Who the hell could it be?_ Minato asked herself mentally as she picked up the line.

"Shang Mu Investigative Offices, you're speaking to Detective Hashimoto." Minato spoke into the other line. "Do you wish to schedule an appoint-"

"Great! I am in _dire need_ of your services, ma'am!" A jovial voice spoke on the other end. However, Minato very easily recognized that voice. After all, it played on commercials practically 24/7.

"Alright sir, cut it out with the Mayor Zao impression." Minato deadpanned. "What do you-"

"Listen here, lady, I _am_ Mayor Zao!" The voice spoke on the other end. "You gotta help me!"

Minato blinked herself wide awake. That definitely wasn't the decaf speaking. _That was the actual Mayor of the entirety of Shang Mu speaking to her at that very moment._

"Y-Yes sir?" Minato asked, nervous. "What can I do for you?"

"I have heard about your _exceptional_ track record with your investigations." Mayor Zao spoke. "And I believe that they can help clear my name of this whole Kyushei mess!"

"So… You want me to investigate the death of Kyushei on my own?" Minato asked the red panda on the other end. "I mean, that investigation is already cluttered with other investigators, both private and federal. If-"

"Look, lady, I need you to visit the Royal Palace later. We can talk about the case there." Zao spoke. "Besides, I don't have much time for an appointment! The people of Shang Mu are literally calling for my impeachment _as we speak!_ Can't you take some time to talk to me and figure out what you can do?"

Minato sighed. "…Alright. I'll be there, twelve-o-clock sharp." The panda spoke. "See you then?"

"Thank you, Detective! Your service to Shang Mu will not be forgotten!" The red panda responded, then hanging up. Minato groaned soon after, slinking back into her chair. "…I thought he was a headache on TV. He's _much_ worse…" The panda groaned...

Suddenly, the door to Minato's office swung open, a black bear carrying several files striding in. He had a large frame, with a grim expression on his face as he placed the files on the panda's desk.

"…I can't do this." Minato spoke without even looking at the files. "I have a client to meet with at noon, sir. I just got off the phone with hi-"

"Listen here, _Moody,_ it's another heart attack case." The bear spoke. "I don't know what the hell you're doing lollygagging around here as senators and _rich people_ are dropping like flies left and right! You gotta find the culprit behind these cases sometime in this _decade,_ Moody. We can't exactly afford to be-"

"Mr. Wang, I just got off the phone with _Mayor Zao._ " Minato interrupted. "Like I said, this case will have to wai-"

"Wait, _hold on._ " The bear spoke. " _Mayor Zao?_ You mean the guy who killed _Kyushei?_ "

"Hang on, sir, there is no direct evidence that suggests Zao even did it. In fact, the location of Kyushei's death being found as a former Kakuchu HQ seems to suggest that he was killed by a member of the Kakuchu, not Mayor Zao." Minato spoke. "I'm getting off track anyways. Point is, this is a case that can affect the entirety of Shang Mu _as we know it._ I need to focus on this new case 100% if we want to put an end to this entire controversy, whether it be Mayor Zao or not. So can you _please_ put the robbery case and all these heart attack cases to someone else? I promise I can find a culprit as soon as I can, and far quicker than anyone on this case."

The bear glared at Minato. "Yeah, I'll let you do the case, _as soon as you quit sleeping on the job._ " The bear spoke. "But go ahead, do this whole case anyways. _It sure as hell won't make a difference, especially if every other detective is already going at it._ "

Minato sighed. "Sir, I may sleep on the job, but I have had a 100% successful track record in the past, being the first person to find a culprit in every case I have been handed, and always getting the criminal in question behind bars." Minato spoke. "Just let me do the case without distractions, okay? I promise I won't disappoint."

The bear grunted. "Fine. _I expect a culprit on my desk before the end of the year, got it?_ " He spoke, then taking the files with him. " _Good luck._ "

Minato then sighed in relief as Mr. Wang left her office. "I swear, that guy doesn't have to be so obstinate…" Minato spoke under her breath as she went onto her computer and began typing up an initial report, based on the current facts presented at the moment.

 _Kyushei Ryuu Murder Case_

 _Who: The victim was Kyushei Ryuu, former mayoral candidate of Shang Mu, and veteran of the Parusan Civil War. There are no confirmed suspects, however, Mayor Zao should be looked at._

 _What: The victim was murdered and buried underneath a collapsing warehouse._

 _When: The death occurred on November 2_ _nd_ _, 2009 at 9 PM, just about a week before the primaries of the Shang Mu Mayoral Election._

 _Where: Underneath an abandoned warehouse. However, investigators have noted that the rubble and underground cavity suggests that the abandoned warehouse was in fact the Kakuchu headquarters. More details are needed for confirmation._

 _Why: No motive for the murder is known, outside of upsetting the Election at the last second. Even then, this suggested motive is only a theory._

 _How: The victim was pierced with what looked to be a giant icicle. Chemical analysis suggests that the icicle is constructed of the same type of ice that forms glaciers in the northern seas. How such an object came to Shang Mu, let alone being pierced through the victim's abdomen, is yet to be determined._

Minato then printed out the document and put it in a folder, placing it in a messenger bag. She surely had a long way to go before she could find a suspect, especially if no other detective could in the year that transpired…

* * *

 **Author's Note: And so, Minato's investigation into the case of Kyushei Ryuu begins! How will events transpire for the blue-haired panda, and will she be the first person to figure out the truth behind the murder of the greatest hope Shang Mu had for its future? Find out soon enough, in the first chapter of Frosted Wings 2: Rewound Memories, coming next week!**


	2. Chapter 1: The Mayor

**Chapter 1: The Mayor**

 _Author's note: School sucks. Sorry for the delay, but I have been wrapped up both in the production of future chapters and the overbearing amount of schoolwork. Hopefully I can upload more frequently than once in a blue moon soon enough, but for now, here's the next chapter!_

* * *

Minato's car drove towards the gate of the Shang Mu Royal Palace. While the building was designed for the residence of the Mayor of Shang Mu, and alongside any family they may have, a few exceptions have been made in the past in regards to civilians meeting the Mayor. It was typically a huge honor to be invited to such a building, feasting with a leader of one of the three Origin Kingdoms, but Minato was here on business. She couldn't afford to stop and admire the gilded décor of the building.

Her grey car stopped in front of a guard gate, the panda rolling down her window. A large wolf was in the guard gate, reading a magazine. He seemed to be distracted.

"Excuse me?" Minato asked the guard. "I'm Minato Hashimoto. I'm here to see Mayor Zao."

The wolf grumbled as he barely even glanced above the magazine to look over Minato. "What's your business, ma'am?" He asked the panda.

"I need to meet with Mayor Zao. He should've made an appointment for today." Minato responded. "It's important business."

"Eh, whatever." The wolf shrugged, stretching out his hand to Minato's car. "Now, ID?"

"Y-Yes sir." Minato replied, bringing him her driver's license. He barely glanced it over before handing it back to the panda.

"Enjoy your visit. Or whatever." The wolf yawned, stretching in his seat. Minato looked on in some confusion before driving to the palace, parking her car, and walking to the front entrance.

As to be expected of the one and only Royal Palace in all of Shang Mu, the palace was lavishly decorated, with gold decorations of the Ancient Dragons on a red wooden backdrop. The roof was tiled with several hand-carved stones into a pagoda, golden horns jutting out of the corners of the roof. Several guards patrolled around the building, standing guard for any intruders. As Minato entered the palace, it was almost as if the size dramatically increased from the outside. Wide, open space, with a marble floor and intricate décor around the building's interior gave an air of luxury, one that simply couldn't be matched by other official buildings within the region.

"Hey, Minato!" A voice greeted Minato from behind her. The panda turned to greet the Mayor, but…

"Hi, Mayor Zao…" Minato nervously spoke. _Wow… He really is shorter than the TV appearances…_ "So, are you ready to-"

"Yes yes yes, come on!" Zao impatiently responded as he walked away. Minato was simply dumbfounded by the lack of tact displayed by the head figure of all of Shang Mu, but she hurriedly followed the diminutive red panda.

"So, where are we going?" Minato asked the Mayor, continuing to follow behind him.

"Where else do you _think_ we're going?" Zao asked Minato as he turned left to enter the administrative hall of the building, and straight across the hall was Zao's very own administrative office, with a doorknob placed both at Zao's height and the height of a normal Avalician.

"Yeah, alright." Minato responded as the duo entered the office, Zao hopping on his chair and pumping himself higher on the chair jus to he could be looking Minato in the eyes… While still having some height to spare.

Minato sat down and took out a notebook and pen, clicking it as she prepared to take notes from Zao's perspective. "Alright, Mayor, did you have anything to do with Kyushei's death?" Minato asked the red panda.

"WHAT?! No!" Zao denied. "He may be a charismatic _jerk_ but I didn't have anything to do with it! I swear!"

Minato looked at Zao before scribbling in her notebook. _Denies he did it rather vehemently. That isn't unexpected, but I'm not seeing any suggestion he's lying._ "Did you _hire_ anyone to kill Kyushei?" Minato continued.

"Look, no one affiliated with me has done it! I'm telling you!" Zao spoke. "At the time of death, I was taking a _bath!_ In fact, what the heck was he even _doing there_ in the first place, huh?"

Minato blinked before scribbling in the notebook. _He denies he hired anyone too, stating that he was taking a bath at the time of death, but he does make a good point. It was brought up some times in the several investigations, yet the supposed alibi was that he was trying to fight the Kakuchu directly. That also doesn't explain why earlier, several people left the building not too long prior to the warehouse's destruction. Like there was somehow advanced warning…_

"So? Got any other questions?" Zao asked Minato.

Minato thought about it for a second. "I still have several questions. In fact, you have actually piqued my curiosity of the whole situation." Minato spoke. "Are you aware that several people left the building prior to Kyushei's death?"

"Yes, I have been made _very_ aware of that." Mayor Zao responded. "What are you getting at?"

"Well, thing is that a truck crashed in there…" Minato reasoned. "And that no one in there seems to have left because of the truck… I believe they left because of something else."

"Go on…" Mayor Zao spoke, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, there might have been a larger threat than Kyushei approaching their base." Minato noted. "On the day of Kyushei's death, three of the four members of his Court died on the exact same day, with Lavender Doctor and the Crimson King himself being unaccounted for in the body count. Two of them, Marigold Mandarin and Cerulean Samurai, died while attacking a truck, being guarded by what witnesses describe as a black cat, white bird, and…" Minato squinted at her notes. "…Large mechanical bear?"

"Okay, and what does that have to do with anything?" Zao asked.

"Well, it just… It simply doesn't add up…" Minato spoke. "Two of the members of the Court died trying to attack a truck, one died in the warehouse, and the other two are unaccounted for. And then there's that whole incident just before the warehouse collapse…"

"Yeah, you mean that whole fight that erupted out of nowhere in the middle of the street?" Mayor Zao asked. "That's something else."

"There's a whole bunch about this case I simply don't get…" Minato spoke. "Do you know who any of the people I mentioned are?"

"Nope." Mayor Zao denied. "I mean, if I knew who they were, you'd think I would've told you already!"

Minato then scribbled more in her notes. _Has nothing to do with the incidents that occurred prior to the collapse of the warehouse either. Might actually be completely innocent in the whole incident, but I'm not ruling him out just yet._

"Alright, Mayor Zao. I'll leave you alone now." Minato spoke, standing up. "I got all that I need."

"So am I innocent? I am, but do you at least believe I am?" Zao asked the panda.

Minato looked at the mayor as she gathered her belongings. "If there is one thing I have learned, it's that I shouldn't rule out any suspects." Minato noted. "You may not be the person who did it, but I'm not putting you out of the realm of possibility."

Zao sighed. "Fair enough, I guess." The red panda shrugged. "But you _are_ going to find out just who or _what_ did this, right?"

Minato smiled at Zao. "Of course I am." The panda promised. "I never failed in a single inves-"

Suddenly a crashing noise was heard outside, drawing the attention of both Zao and Mminato. Mayor Zao yelped in surprise at the noise, while Minato simply narrowed her eyes.

"Wh-what was that?!" Mayor Zao gasped.

"No idea, but I'm about to find out!" Minato spoke, rushing out of the office…

* * *

When Minato emerged, the scene was plain as day. A car had crashed into a nearby light pole, the car's engine on fire with the light pole toppled over the vehicle. An ambulance had come by to get the unfortunate victim to the hospital.

Minato rushed over to the car and took a look over it. _Traffic wasn't that bad. Either this was intentional, or… But no… No one would be drunk driving at this time…_

"Excuse me, ma'am, get out of the way!" A voice shouted at Minato, a police officer rushing to her. "This is a-"

"And you're mistaking me for someone else." Minato responded, flashing her detective badge at the officer, stopping him in his tracks. "What happened?"

"The car's tire suddenly popped and caused it to crash into the light pole. I'm afraid Senator Bao was in the wreck."

"Wait, what?" Minato responded, raising an eyebrow. It was then that several medical personnel extracted a figure from the car. The figure was a white canine, but blood covered his entire body from the crash. His head was caved in practically all the way, and it was almost certain that the poor senator was killed on site.

"Yeah. What a tragedy." The police officer spoke. "This is the, what, sixth time a Senator died this year alone?"

"Yeah…" Minato spoke, then sighing. "Get someone else from the Shang Mu Investigative Offices to help, I can't necessarily do anything about it as of now."

"But wait, you just got here! Can't you help us with this case?" The police officer asked.

"I'm doing the whole Kyushei case. I can't necessarily afford to divide my attention as of now." Minato spoke. "Trust me, if I could, I'd find out just what happened in a heartbeat."

The officer sighed. "Alright, I guess. Whatever floats your boat." He shrugged as Minato left the scene to go back to her car.

As Minato entered her car, her phone rang. Taking out her phone, she placed it against her ear.

"Detective Hashimoto speaking, how may I help you?" Minato greeted the other end.

" _Minato, did you get anything on Mayor Zao?_ " Mr. Wang asked on the other end. " _Or is he continuing to deny he had anything to do with it?_ "

Minato sighed. "Yes, Mr. Wang. He states he had absolutely nothing to do with it. No one was even hired. In fact, he states he had nothing to do with the incidents that occurred _prior_ to the warehouse collapse."

Mr. Wang's growl could be heard on the other line, sending chills down Minato's spine. " _So when are you finally going to pin him down? The bastard has gone scot-free from the whole investigation!_ "

"Mr. Wang, have you considered that someone _else_ might be responsible?" Minato noted. "After all, believing that someone else committed a crime than the actual perpetrator is only going to put innocent men behind bars."

" _Yes, but Zao has the most reason to do it outside of the Crimson King or the Red Scarves!_ " Mr. Wang noted. " _So unless you-_ "

Minato perked up. "That's it! The Red Scarves!" Minato exclaimed. "They might have had something to do with the whole incident!"

Mr. Wang chuckled slightly. " _Well, then that might be the way to go. Now there's only one problem:_ _ **Finding out where they are.**_ " Mr. Wang spoke. " _So, got any ideas on how to find them?"_

Minato smiled. "Don't worry, Mr. Wang. I think I know _exactly_ how to find them." Minato smiled. "I'll be sure to get something from them before the day ends."

" _Yeah, yeah. Just don't get yourself killed._ " Mr. Wang spoke. " _You know they're a criminal organization, right? Or did you somehow forget?_ "

Minato shook her head. "No, sir." Minato responded.

" _Good. Just be safe, alright? I don't want you getting killed like some sort of dumbass, okay?_ " Mr. Wang spoke, then hanging up on Minato. The panda then took her car keys and turn the ignition, driving slowly and carefully out of the Royal Palace to a nearby parking lot, paying the toll for an hour's worth of parking.

"Alright, now to kick back, relax…" Minato sighed, reclining her chair. " _And to find out where the Red Scarves are._ "

…And so Minato slept, at least to an outsider's perspective. However, to the panda, this is little more than procedure. Something regular. In fact, it was the very technique that allowed her to be so successful throughout her whole career...

* * *

Minato woke up in a blue landscape within her car. Her body was left behind her, as a ghostly silhouette of Minato rose up and got out of the vehicle. She looked around, stretching before sighing.

"Alright… _Rewind._ " Minato spoke. And with that, her car backed out of the parking lot, returning to the Royal Palace. However, Minato was walking out of the parking lot calmly. People were walking backwards, words were spoken backwards, _everything_ was moving backwards. Minato was rewinding the very flow of time around her, until…

" _October 5_ _th_ _. 2001. 10:53 PM._ " Minato spoke. Suddenly, everything stopped at a specific state. Almost everything was unfamiliar to her by that point, with several blobs of light representing people she simply did not know. Some buildings were also different, if not outright absent. She then went to the Central Shang Mu Bank nearby the Royal Palace, where a large van was parked outside. Minato then entered the van… And time soon resumed to normal, bringing Minato along for the ride as soon as two of the blobs of light entered the vehicle.

"Alright, let's go!" One of the blobs shouted in a completely neutral voice, not suggesting gender, age, or any sort of detail. "The Scarves are waiting!"

"Then it looks like I'm exactly where I have to be." Minato spoke, as she reclined back and relaxed. "It'll be a while, but it should be enough for me to find out where it is…"

The van then revved away from the bank, and it wasn't until a half an hour later from her perspective that the van stopped at the Red Scarves base. Being a gate near several backroads in Shang Mu, nearby what would later become Phoenix Highway, it was enough for Minato to get a perspective of where she is.

"Alright. Now to retrace…" Minato spoke as she walked back to her car several miles away, Rewinding time as the van slowly followed her from behind in order to verify her assumption…

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

A black, feminine, hooded figure was waiting at the Royal Shang Mu Café, a small restaurant close to the Royal Palace. She wasn't an assuming figure. In fact, she blended in rather well to her surroundings, given the brisk temperature of the surrounding area. Almost everyone was burdened with rather heavy clothing in order to better withstand the late autumn temperatures. Eventually, a wolf soon entered the restaurant, sitting across the hooded figure.

"Did you do it?" The wolf asked.

"Yeah. Give me the money." The figure bluntly responded. "Don't waste my time."

"Alright, fine." The wolf shrugged, handing the figure a large bag of shining Gems. The figure took the gems and placed them in a backpack.

"Nice doing business with you." The figure spoke, getting up.

"Hey, wait a sec." The wolf spoke. "You _really_ think you're gonna get awa-"

Suddenly, he went stiff. The figure turned and quickly swiped a wallet from the wolf's pocket, placing it in her own.

" _Thank you for your patronage._ " The figure simply spoke, leaving the wolf behind. The figure didn't even bother turning back to look at the wolf, who was still frozen in place. And soon… He collapsed back on his chair, his eyes rolling back into his head as he died on the spot…

* * *

 _And so, the first real chapter of Frosted Wings 2 is finally complete! Is Mayor Zao really guilty? Did the Red Scarves have anything to do with the death of Kyushei? And just who, or what is that figure who took the Gems? Find out next chapter, coming soon!_


	3. Chapter 2: The Scarves

**Chapter 2: The Scarves**

 _Hey, kept ya waiting, huh?_

 _Right now, I'm definitely sure you're asking if FW2 is "dead", so to speak._

 _The answer is a resounding "no", of course. Otherwise, this chapter wouldn't be up._

 _Once again, school is getting in the way of me writing this, hence why there were no uploads for so long. I hope I can upload more consistently in the future, but given my current track record, alongside what's ahead of me with the SAT and stuff, I can't necessarily do that, not without spreading out the story to a ridiculous degree._

 _With that being said, I hope these next few chapters are well worth the wait._

* * *

Minato suddenly woke up in her car, jolting back awake. She then pulled her chair back up and turned the ignition once more, turning her car back on.

Minato then looked at a pocket watch she had in her coat pocket. "2:00 PM." Minato noted, then breathing a sigh of relief. "Good. Just had enough time…"

The car drove away from the parking lot, going back onto the road as she carefully recounted her steps, and the routes she took in her Rewound state. She then turned on the radio.

"Good Afternoon, Central Shang Mu." The familiar newscaster spoke. "Tragedy struck our fair Kingdom, as a car carrying Senator Bao has crashed into a lightpole. These horrific incidents have caused politicians to step up their personal security, but to no avail. The total number of horrific deaths of our Senators is now 6, in this year alone…"

Minato sighed. _How horrible, but I can't do a thing to stop it. I have other things on my plate as of right now._

"These terrible incidents have been happening ever since the death of Mayoral Candidate Kyushei Ryuu over a year ago, and while some have proposed that it may be the work of a political maverick, the politicians were from several different positions of the political spectrum, and many of the causes of death are disconnected. Senator Fan, alongside many members of the Dragoon Party, are beginning talks of a new bill to increase federal funding for security of members of the Shang Mu Congress…"

Minato sighed in relief. _Good. At least they're taking action to try and prevent… Whatever this i-_

"Oh, hang on?" The newscaster spoke. "B-Breaking news! Senator Chan was found collapsed by a heart attack in the Royal Shang Mu Café!"

If Minato were drinking something, she would've done a spit-take. Instead, she simply gasped in shock and surprise. "Wait, what?!" Minato audibly exclaimed. "How is that possible?! It's so close to the other death!"

"He is currently being taken to the Royal Shang Mu hospital, where treatment awaits." The newscaster continued. "However, given the track record of these cases, it seems unlikely that he'll make it out alive. Mayor Zao is being briefed on the situation as I speak."

Minato groaned in annoyance as she continued to drive onto Phoenix Highway, driving onto the right lane. However, shortly after, she proceeds to go on the next exit, going to a densely wooded area.

She then stopped the car and got out, taking in a breath of fresh air as her car was parked on the side of the road. The rest of the way, she would have to walk. Best not to attract too much attention, at the very least…

As Minato walked on the path to the Red Scarves HQ, she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was being watched by some _thing_ or some _one,_ as if every one of her moves were being carefully scrutinized in-person. _I need to get that info, if I don-_

"Well, would you look at that!" A feminine voice spoke from behind the tree line. "I'm afraid the police station is not this way. You want to go down the road the other way for that."

Minato jumped in surprise, looking from side to side to try and find the person addressing her, but to no avail. _It has to be a Scarf! Who else could it be?!_ "Wh-Who are you?" Minato asked, breathing heavily.

"Relax, just taking a stroll. What about you? What brings you all the way here?" The feminine voice spoke back.

Minato sighed as she forced herself to steel her nerves. She couldn't afford to look as if she were a threat, or she'd likely be killed on the spot. She also couldn't afford to look weak, or else she won't get the info she needs, _especially_ if she's talking to a Scarf, as her intuition keeps telling her.

"I… I am Detective Hashimoto of the Shang Mu Private Detective Agency." Minato responded. "I need to know if a Red Scarf had anything to do with Kyushei's death."

A fit of giggling came from the voice. "Good one! But no."

"But wait, how could that be the case?!" Minato responded. "Kyushei hated your guts!"

"The Red Scarves are _professionals,_ not mindless thugs." The voice spoke, confirming Minato's suspicions. "The assassination is far too obvious to be a believable accident. Whoever did that was clumsy as hell. Can't be junior or loose cannon elements either; the police would have conveniently found overwhelming evidence to arrest the culprits by now if that was the case. The Red Scarves may be the Three Kingdoms' resident friendly neighborhood ninjas, but they're not behind every single unnatural death that happens, you know?"

There was a short pause, and then, the voice continued. "Wasn't the police recently investigating a bunch of goons that Kyushei pissed off? The Kabuchu or something like that, if I recall? What happened to that trail? In fact, did nobody find it odd that he died in their headquarters?"

Minato made to respond, only to recall what her own notes said…

 _"Where: Underneath an abandoned warehouse._ _ **However, investigators have noted that the rubble and underground cavity suggests that the abandoned warehouse was in fact the Kakuchu headquarters.**_ _More details are needed for confirmation."_

"Wait, so that warehouse _is_ the Kakuchu Headquarters?" Minato asked. "Then… That means…"

There was a sigh coming from the tree line. "Look, I know how it is. I know what the Red Scarves do. Everyone who lives near here knows it. But you shouldn't go around and suspect people of doing something just because of their job. Please check your evidence before making wild claims next time."

 _But you guys had the most believable motive to do it… But I'm not going to doubt what you're saying. The evidence is too overwhelming at this point. A Kakuchu member had to have killed him!_ Minato thought, then nodding. "Thank you, ma'am!" Minato spoke before running back to her car, scribbling down what the voice said in her notes.

High in the trees, a green feline wearing a black tank top and shorts was shaking her head. _Good grief. She's really going to get herself in trouble if she keeps up like this._ The feline thought as she watched the panda run off. _Probably gonna wind up dead on the side of the road or whatever._

"Coral, did you redirect the civilian?" A voice spoke in the feline's ear.

"Investigator, actually. Though given how amateurish? Probably was one. Quick to suspect, blunt, careless. Shall I keep an eye on her?" Coral responded.

"…No. She wouldn't be a threat." The voice spoke in Coral's ear. "Just report back to base."

Coral nodded, soon leaping through the trees to get back to the Red Scarves' Shang Mu base.

* * *

Minato got back to her car and pulled out her cell phone, dialing Mr. Wang.

" _...What is it, Minato?_ " Mr Wang spoke from the other line.

"Mr. Wang, the Red Scarves didn't do it!" Minato excitedly told the bear. "And our list of suspects has lowered down to the Kakuchu! The warehouse Kyushei died in was the Kakuchu base, and I got confirmation of it from a Red Scarf!"

Mr. Wang paused for a second. _"…Given the Kakuchu's activity has slowed down to a crawl as of late, and they did have a bitter relationship with the Scarves, they don't seem to have any motive to lie about it, if any at all_." Mr. Wang responded. " _But if it was a Kakuchu member, why would they destroy their own base in order to kill Kyushei?_ "

Minato thought about it for a second before looking in reports regarding the warehouse on November 2nd, 2009. First, a group of trucks emerged from the warehouse. Around an hour later, a truck crashed into the warehouse, and soon after, a large group of people left the facility. Soon after that, the warehouse collapsed with Kyushei inside, despite no one seeing him… Enter…

Minato blinked as she saw that specific part of the notes. _But… How is that possible? How did he even get in there in the first place?_ Minato thought. _The only way that can work is if he was… But that's impossible. How could it be possible in the slightest?_

" _Minato? You there?_ " Mr. Wang asked.

"Yeah…" Minato responded. "…Mr. Wang, what are the chances that Kyushei might be the Crimson King?"

Silence came from the other end before hearty laughter came from the other end. " _Really now? You think that's a possibility?! Goodness, Minato, you're really grasping at straws here!_ " Mr. Wang spoke. " _If he was the Crimson King, why would he wage an entire campaign against himself?_ "

"That's the thing, that's what doesn't make any sort of sense…" Minato sighed. "If there was any sort of reason for him to do it, then we wouldn't be having this much trouble looking for the killer…"

" _Listen, Minato, you're going into speculation._ " Mr. Wang spoke. " _Unless you have any sort of concrete evidence, consider all possibilities as equally likely, except the downright ridiculous ones like the one you tried to tell me._ "

Minato stayed silent for a few moments before making to respond. "…Alright. I'll speak to you later." Minato eventually replied.

" _Goodbye._ " Mr. Wang responded before hanging up the phone, leaving Minato to herself as she stared up at the roof of her car, reclining back…

Minato then looked up news articles related to Kyushei on her phone. Among the results, there were a few results that were in memory of Kyushei. Looking back further, there was a few notes regarding charity work he has done, visiting a homeless shelter, an accusation that he is the Crimson King, an accusation from Zao that he stole an idea of hi- _Wait, what?_

Minato opened up the article regarding the accusation of the deceased senator being the Crimson King. It was a tabloid, the _Avalice Star._ It was notorious for sensational reporting that, at least most of the time, was completely false, and more than likely invented just to get someone's eyes caught on the headline. However, something about this, especially given her original theory… Maybe…

"KYUSHEI RYUU: THE CRIMSON KING?! Monkey Ninja Reveals All!" The headline blared, in bright yellow letters. Of course it was traditional Avalice Star-style reporting, eye-catching headline and all.

"April 20th, 2009, a ninja monkey by the name of Yamato Oshiro had broken into the building of the Worker's Party and managed to escape, albeit heavily injured, with several _incriminating_ documents of the Worker's Party, with evidence of money laundering and funding several illicit underground programs. Both Candidates Zao and Ryuu denounced the Worker's Party soon after the incident, with their candidate dropping out on the 22nd, and Candidate Ryuu even donated money towards Yamato's medical bills. Several news outlets have reported on the charity work of the candidate, but Yamato himself spoke a different story after the election concluded in Zao's favor." The article read. Minato deadpanned, but forced herself to continue on. "According to him, he was actually sent in order to spy on the Crimson King, when all of a sudden, he threw the lights to try and catch him. For a split second, he swore he saw the features of Kyushei Ryuu.

"I'm lucky to be alive right now." Yamato spoke to us after the incident. "He had me cornered, struck my vocal chords and threw me out the building. No one has been listening to me since then."

When asked for details regarding the incident, Kyushei only said it was a miracle Yamato was alive, and that his deeds have struck down the corrupt Worker's Party. Who Yamato was sent by, remains unknown."

Minato raised an eyebrow as she closed her phone. _So whomever this Yamato guy is… He'll likely have some information, at least if he's telling the truth. I'm surprised only the Avalice Star has reported this, though… Were they the only people willing to take the story at face value?_

Minato shook her head as she turned on her car and drove back onto Phoenix Highway, turning back towards Shang Mu to investigate what really happened during that incident back in April of 2009…

* * *

Minato soon pulled up to the former Worker's Party building in Central Shang Mu. The building was innocuous enough, except for the fact that the building was in shambles compared to the surrounding buildings. It was in extreme disrepair, and it practically seemed as if the slightest breeze would cause it to collapse. Surprising, since only over a year prior, it was a simple building made of brick, much like the other buildings.

Minato put in a few gems in the parking meter, leaving enough time for a quick Rewind session as she soon got back into her car… And began to doze.

* * *

Minato woke back up in the same blue landscape, eventually getting out of her car.

"April 20th, 2009 at 12:00 AM." Minato spoke. And soon after, the shifting of figures began to turn the hands of time once more, the Worker's Party building slowly began to return to its former glory. Eventually, the rewinding stopped, and no one was around except a tall dragon, cloaked in sha- _Wait…_

Minato slowly approached the figure and looked at him closely. _Wait… Red eyes, thick eyebrows… It's Kyushei… Yet something seems… Different…_ Minato rationalized. The scene played, and Kyushei went into the building from a back entrance. Soon after, Minato saw Yamato enter the building through the front entrance. _Wait… Could this mean… The Avalice Star finally reported the truth?_

Steeling her nerves, Minato followed Kyushei into the building…

The building was a standard political office. Not much was special about it, especially the back room which was used as a sort of fire exit. Kyushei climbed up the stairs, with Minato soon following.

When the dragon reached the fifth floor, he soon entered and immediately went for the file cabinet, searching for something within the compartments…

" **Hm… Well, well, well,** _ **what do we have here..?**_ " Kyushei spoke, in a notably deeper pitch than seen in his speeches. " _ **Money laundering, drug and weapons trafficking… My, there are some skeletons in the closet right here…**_ "

 _What the hell?_ Minato thought as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. _Why is he-_

Suddenly, the draconic figure stood up and turned around, facing the corner away from him and glaring deeply at it. Minato turned around and saw the silhouette of Yamato slowly inching towards the light switch. _Something tells me this is about to get ugly…_

The lights immediately turned on, and Yamato threw smoke pellets at the dragon's feet, enveloping him in a cloud of smoke as Yamato made to run away. After Yamato got out the door, Kyushei seemed to _vanish_ from the clouds. Minato ran after Yamato, only to see the monkey lying flat on the ground.

" **You know, your tricks are** _ **hilarious.**_ " Kyushei spoke down to Yamato. " **I don't know who you are, or just who you're affiliated with, but quite frankly,** _ **I don't care.**_ **You're going to die anyways.** "

Yamato glared daggers at the dragon as he slowly crawled away from him. Kyushei narrowed his eyes as his opponent crawled away from him.

" **Backing away, yet staring me down angrily. Two different actions, indicative of two completely different emotions. Tell me, chimp, what do you feel?** " Kyushei spoke as he slowly walked towards Yamato. " **Anger? Fear? Or are you foolish enough to believe you can strike me down** _ **here**_ **of all places?** "

Yamato stood up, unfazed by Kyushei's approach. "I might not be able to beat you in a fight…" Yamato grunted as he slowly got up. " _But I can sure as hell run._ " He spoke before sprinting down the stairwell, only for Kyushei to harshly tackle him as he ran down the stairs.

" **Really now?** " Kyushei spoke behind Yamato as he twisted the primate's arm, pinning down the mercenary. Yamato then screamed in pain and agony as Kyushei twisted his limb. " _ **Just who do you think you are to outrun me, of all people?**_ "

" _I'd… Be a fool… If I told you…_ " Yamato responded, only to elicit a slight chuckle from Kyushei.

" **Shame, and you're** _ **still**_ **a fool for not telling me.** " Kyushei spoke as he continued to twist Yamato's hand, breaking it soon enough. Yamato was still screaming in pain, but using his good hand, he takes out a small kunai and stabs it into Kyushei's arm, then tearing it out. The dragon grunted in pain, clutching his hand as he was momentarily distracted, enough for Yamato to push him off, struggling to get up as he then continued to run away from the dragon.

Kyushei disappeared once more, and Yamato suddenly gagged as he fell backwards, Kyushei appearing in front of him once again.

" **Hm. Your trick was cute, but not enough.** " Kyushei remarked, taking Yamato's other hand with the kunai and breaking it. Yamato tried to scream… Yet couldn't. Kyushei had struck him in the neck, preventing him from making any vocals from that point. " **I bet you wish to scream.** _ **What a shame you can't seem to do that as of right now.**_ " Kyushei then began dragging Yamato behind him. " **Why don't we take a bit of a tour, hm?** "

Yamato seemed to go limp, but as soon as Kyushei got back up to the fifth floor, he stuffed the folders he took from the Worker's Party into Yamato's uniform. " **Normally, I'd end you right here and now… But I am a man of** _ **opportunity.**_ **And right now…** " Kyushei spoke, then hoisting Yamato by the collar. " _ **You'd best survive the fall.**_ "

"No, don't!" Minato shouted, but she knew it would not do any good. Kyushei threw Yamato out the building, the chimp crashing down onto a car. A crowd soon gathered around in terror, calling the local police force. Afterwards, Kyushei calmly left the room once more, as if nothing ever happened.

Yet now Minato knew, and with a determined look on her face, she returned the time to normal… Waking up in her car soon after.

 _Kyushei… Kyushei is the Crimson King…_


	4. Chapter 3: Dawn is a Feeling

**Chapter 3: Dawn is a Feeling**

Minato woke up next to the former Worker's Party building only an hour after she began her viewing of past events. It was 5:00 PM, and it was starting to get into the evening. _…Kyushei is the Crimson King…_ Minato thought, still in disbelief. She began to drive away to the Shang Mu Investigative Offices to clock in, at least to say that she was doing things while she was away.

As Minato was driving, her mind seemed to drift from the shock at her newfound revelation. Worst part is, she can't tell anyone about it. After all, she never had a single piece of concrete evidence, and anything she said would either be considered hearsay or dismissed by others for being too unbelievable. _If only… If only it didn't have to be this way…_

* * *

 _14 years prior, 1996_

"I can't believe how _big_ you're getting, little lady!" A large panda guffawed as he picked up a far younger Minato and spun her around a bit.

"Hey, Dad, cut it out!" Minato protested, failing to conceal her enjoyment of the moment. She was then put back on the ground in a fit of joyous laughter. Being only six years old or so, it was the first week of School for her, going on what would later be a rather promising academic career that would put her on the track to becoming a Detective.

"Come on, let's get you to school." Minato's father smiled, taking the young panda's arm as they both walked outside. The day was mostly cloudy, at least as far as she could recall. Given Minato wore rain boots on that day, it seems like it was supposed to rain later on that day.

Minato was dropped off at a multi-story academic building, the Shang Mu Youth Academy. Its location being centralized gave the entire region of Central Shang Mu a reliable school to be zoned to, being one of the more popular options. Well, either that or the zone for that school was so widespread it may as well have covered the entire region. After all, Shang Mu was only a fraction of the size it would later become under the leadership of a few other future Mayors, so having only one school for young children made sense at the time.

Getting into class, Minato sat down by herself. Many young children like her were neatly ordered into rows of 5, with Minato being the third person from the left in the second row. At least as she remembered it, the class was all organized neatly in alphabetical order. The bell soon rang, thus signaling any stragglers left behind to go to the office to report themselves as tardy.

"So, class, how was your summer vacation? Did any of you have fun?" Ms. Wright, the teacher asked her class. She was a kind young lady, as far as Minato remembers. She was an antelope hailing all the way from Parusa, an island kingdom near the tropics. "I'm sure you have _plenty_ to tell me!"

The children then proceeded to tell their stories. One child vacationed as far north as Jinzhen to visit his relatives. Another visited the Arkaina Caldera, a mountain said to have been the site of an incredible explosion long ago. To say the least, it was interesting to hear what everyone else did over their three months of absence from the classroom.

Minato kept quiet for the most part, only posing the occasional question here and there for a story, but overall still remaining quiet. She and her parents never did much in the summer, only staying put and continuing their lives.

"So, Minato, what did you do during your summer?" Ms. Wright asked the young panda.

Minato was thrown off guard from the question, looking slightly shocked. She was put on the spot to do something, _say something._ What was she supposed to say, she sat around and watched cartoons? No, that's uninteresting. Something exciting? But what? She sat still, thinking about what to say…

"I guess you didn't do much, huh?" Ms. Wright asked Minato. "Well, that's okay! Sometimes, doing little is better than doing a whole lot. Allows you to get close to those you love."

"Y-Yeah, I guess…" Minato blushed, turning away.

"No need to be shy, Minato." Ms. Wright crouched next to Minato. "You know we're all here for you, right?"

"Yeah…" Minato acknowledged her teacher, Ms. Wright turning back to asking the class about their summer activities. It continued on for quite a while, taking up the entire first hour of class.

"Alright, those stories were _very_ interesting!" Ms. Wright jovially spoke to the class. "Now, how about a good book?"

Ms. Wright passed out several small books made of cardboard. Some looked somewhat mangled, while others looked almost in pristine condition. Minato got _Bring it Home, Ivan!_ As her story.

"Now, what you have to do is read the book silently, and write all about what the story means in your journals." Ms. Wright spoke. "After that, we'll tell the whole class what our book is about! How about that?"

"Yes, Ms. Wright." The class spoke in unison before going into their books, indistinct chatter going on about the class before Ms. Wright went to her desk, going on the new computer in order to do her paperwork.

Minato began to read " _Bring it Home, Ivan!_ ". It was all about an alien named Ivan who crash landed on Avalice. He met some friends, and wanted to show the people of his world how beautiful Avalice was. So, he invented a way to bring Avalice all the way to his home planet, and everyone lived happily ever after. It was a silly book, entirely in rhyme and not really supposed to make logical sense in the slightest. After all, how can Ivan make a way to move an entire planet? Regardless, Minato neatly wrote in her journal a few sentences in her journal about the story.

"Ivan was an alien. Ivan missed home. Ivan met some friends, and Ivan went home." Minato wrote in her journal. Looking around, everyone else was still writing or reading their stories. Maybe a nice little rest wouldn't hurt…

And so, Minato closed her eyes and put her head on her arms, taking a nap as everyone else continued their work. This particular nap felt a bit strange, but she brushed it off. Soon, the voice of Ms. Wright whispered in Minato's ear.

"Minato, wake up…" Ms. Wright gently whispered in Minato's ear. The panda awoke, rubbing her eyes, but Ms. Wright kept whispering in Minato's ear, telling her to wake up. What's going on?

When Minato's eyes went into focus, she saw something strange: The entire classroom was awash in blue light, her body still there, sleeping as Ms. Wright kept trying to wake her up. The class was beginning to snicker.

"Ms. Wright?" Minato spoke, getting up from her seat and leaving her body behind, still awash in blue light. "W-What's going on?!"

Ms. Wright then nudged Minato, trying to wake her up still. "Come on, Minato, wake up…" Ms. Wright continued to speak, this time a bit louder so Minato can hear her better. But Minato could already hear her. She didn't know what was going on, tears streaming down her face.

"MS. WRIGHT, HELP!" Minato shrieked, running to Ms. Wright and laying a hand on her… Only to phase right through. "W-WHAT?!" Minato went aback in shock, her eyes still watering. "A-am I _dead?!_ "

Ms. Wright went to the phone and dialed a number, putting the phone to her ear. "…Hi, Mr. Hashimoto?" Ms. Wright spoke. "Yes… We were doing a writing activity and Minato went to sleep. She isn't waking u-" Ms. Wright began, only for a beep to emanate from the phone. "…Oh dear."

The class was still trying to contain their laughter, but Minato was highly confused. She didn't know what was going on. Nothing made sense. It was all very, very confusing.

After a while, Minato's father opened the door. "Minato?" The panda asked, walking up to the young panda. "Come on, sweetie, wake up…"

Minato began to bawl tears of sadness. Everything was still very, very confusing. "DAD, HELP!" Minato screamed, still to no response.

He placed a finger on the base of his daughter's neck. "She has a pulse, I don't know what's going on…" Mr. Hashimoto spoke to Ms. Wright. "Come on, Minato, _please wake up…_ "

"We can take her to the clinic if she doesn't respond soon enough, or you can take her home after this." Ms. Wright spoke to Mr. Hashimoto. "What are you thinking of doing?"

"No idea." Mr. Hashimoto spoke, raising Minato's head. Minato felt a large force from the bottom of her neck, but not much aside from that. Mr. Hashimoto opened up his daughter's eyes to see if they would focus.

"…Oh dear ancients…" Mr. Hashimoto spoke. Minato walked around him to see what he is talking about. Her eyes were a brighter blue than normal, and seemed to shine faintly. At least, that's what the "other her" looked like.

Minato sighed in relief, somewhat. _Alright, I… I'm not dead, but… What's going on?_

Suddenly, Minato got an idea. She tried sitting down in the exact same position she was in to sleep, and tried, with all her might to wake up…

And she did, the area returning to its normal colors. Mr. Hashimoto smiled at his daughter as Ms. Wright looked _extremely_ relieved. Minato looked around the class, still finding others snickering at her.

"Minato, are you alright?" Mr. Hashimoto asked his daughter. Minato only responded by hugging her father tightly, crying softly on his torso; Mr. Hashimoto only took his daughter's embrace and hugged her back.

"I'll take her back, ma'am. Something is going on." Mr. Hashimoto spoke to the teacher, soon taking the young panda out of the classroom. A loud shout was heard from Mrs. Wright as Minato left, but she didn't hear who it was addressed to.

Unbeknownst to Minato, that would be the first time she activated Rewind. For a long while, she thought she was a freak. No one would believe her outside of her own parents regarding what happened, and she soon pushed the incident aside…

* * *

Minato shook her head out of the momentary trance as she pulled the brakes to stop behind a car. There were miles upon miles of cars in front of her… _Rush Hour._

Minato slunk back into her seat and sighed, taking out her phone and dialing a number in The phone rang.

" _Minato?_ " A feminine voice came from the other end. " _It's been a while! How are you?_ "

"Good, Mom. Just stuck in Rush Hour traffic… Thought I'd check up on you and Dad." Minato smiled. "What's going on?"

" _Your father and I have begun preparing for that Winter Festival in a few weeks. Should get our decorations up by December!_ "

Minato gasped. "Mom, don't you think it's a bit too early for Winter Festival decorations?" She asked. "I mean, if you're going to do that, then _at least_ wait a few weeks or so!"

Minato's mother laughed on the other line. " _Oh, don't worry! We haven't started right now! That'd be ridiculous!_ " She laughed. " _But what's going on with you? How is our little detective doing?_ "

Minato kept silent for a bit. "…It's this case." She spoke. "I've seen some things about it, and… I need your opinion on it."

" _Well, go ahead. I'll listen."_

"…What would you do if it turned out Kyushei was the Crimson King?"

" _…What? You can't be serious!_ " Mrs. Hashimoto responded.

"Mom, I'm telling the truth! I saw it with my own two eyes!" Minato blurted.

" _…Oh my goodness, this…_ " Ms. Hashimoto trailed off " _But how are you going to get people to believe you?_ "

Minato sighed. "I… I don't know. I'll try and find a way." Minato responded. "But what would you do if you found the person who killed him? You're a lawyer, so-"

" _Well, if they stopped him before he actually rose to Mayor… Maybe they'd be a hero for what they did!_ " Mrs. Hashimoto replied. " _I mean, think about it! Avalice as a whole was saved from a crime lord taking control of one of the strongest militaries of the Origin Kingdoms!_ "

"Yeah, but… If they knew the truth… _Why haven't they come forward?_ " Minato asked.

" _Hmm… That's a tough one. But if I were to make a guess of some kind, maybe they don't want the attention? I mean, 'Kyushei is the Crimson King' is kind of a hard sell for most people as of now…_ " Ms. Hashimoto spoke. " _Minato, all I ask is that you figure out a way to gather evidence that links Kyushei to the Crimson King. I'm sure that the rest will follow from there._ "

"Thanks, Mom." Minato smiled. "Tell Dad I said hi."

" _Will do, sweetie_ " Mrs. Hashimoto responded. " _Have a good day._ "

Minato smiled as the phone hung up and she leaned back in her car's chair. Still a long while past rush hour traffic…

* * *

 _Shang Mu Youth Academy, 1997_

 _"Mrs. Hashimoto… Your daughter… I'm somewhat worried about her." The principal of the Shang Mu Youth Academy spoke. "She never socializes with others, and she sometimes falls asleep during tests and quizzes…"_

 _"What do you mean? Our daughter is perfectly fine…" Mrs. Hashimoto spoke. "I mean, there was that incident my husband intervened with a year ago, but… What do you think is her issue?"_

 _"That's the thing: There may not even be an issue." The principal responded. "Ms. Wright and I have been speaking with each other regarding her, and… We believe she may have an Affinity."_

 _"An Affinity?" Mrs. Hashimoto asked._

 _"A special ability of sorts that sometimes manifests in young children. Typically, some children have trouble controlling their abilities, and sometimes, it's rather hard to determine if a child does have an Affinity to begin with. Such is the case with Minato." The principal answered simply. "We believe that perhaps the mere fact Minato has an Affinity is causing her to distance herself from other people, perhaps being a lack of ability to relate to those who are not in the same situation as her."_

 _"…What do you think it is?" Mrs. Hashimoto responded. "Is it anything that will hurt her?"_

 _"That's the thing. We don't know what it is." The principal responded. "That will be up to you to find out alongside your daughter. Hopefully the sooner we can find out what it is, exactly, the better we can accommodate for her."_

 _"…Thank you, sir." Mrs. Hashimoto responded. "But what about Minato? What do I have to do with her?"_

 _"…Tell her that it will be alright." The principal simply responded. "She will need as much reassurance as she can get, believe me on this."_


	5. Chapter 4: Take Me Out

**Chapter 4: Take Me Out  
** Shang Mu was always a port town, ever since its inception. Due to this, it has always had the blessing of doing business with niche Outer Kingdoms such as Parusa and the Huodao Islands to the west, the former colony of Jinzhen to the north, and the business it naturally gets with Shuigang and Shang Tu due to being one of the Origin Kingdoms that was guarding the Kingdom Stone, the source of Avalice's power.

It was November 18th, 2010. The evening. Many people were walking through the streets, cars were honking, and forget about air traffic; that was an absolute nightmare in and of itself anyways in a large city, with birds and bats trying to go over each other in an attempt to go home as quickly as possible.  
But for many, they took it as a chance to unwind, relax after a long day of business. The many shops of Shang Mu made sure that no matter what, at least a few gems were spent after every night for each individual, driving the nighttime economy.

For others, they take it as a chance to work overtime. Especially after the rise of Mayor Zao, work ethic was a high priority, and overtime was highly regarded. Typically, the people working overtime were salarymen, businesspeople, and political workers.

And for a select few, they took it as a chance to make business. Some of these people had meetings to attend to, sometimes meeting in the Shang Mu Royal Café, others meeting in areas like the Cheng Fan Soup Shop or the Parusan Veteran's Memorial Park. Of course, much of this business was very much illicit. Much of it was conducted by the Red Scarves, with others being handled by organizations like the Saisei Mafia. And then there are the select few independent workers…

The sun was setting on a beautiful evening in the Parusan Veteran's Memorial Park. The grass was a shade of dark blue-green from the shade of the nearby buildings, children were playing on the playground, and a few families were eating in the nearby restaurants. An honorary statue of Kyushei stood as the centerpiece of the entire area, with a playground to the left and a coffee shop to the right. Children were enjoying the pastries the coffee shop provided, and families were enjoying the time they were spending with each other, not a care in the world.

A white falcon was simply staring at the statue in front of her with a mix of disgust and anger. _What luck. They wouldn't believe me even if he were alive and corroborated my story._ The falcon thought to herself. She looked down at her notepad, which had some notes she had taken regarding a recent target.

The falcon closed her eyes and breathed in. In a way, it was a relaxing day, yet she knew at any moment she could be seen by a Red Scarf, or even the Shoheki. However, both of them have steered clear from her ever since the Kyushei incident. The Shoheki she at least understood somewhat. Boss does respect her space enough to not get in her way, and she knew he wouldn't actively go out to harm a feather on her body. The Red Scarves on the other hand? They have had pretty much every reason to go after her, yet they haven't continued. Maybe they knew a losing battle when it was right in front of them, which honestly stroked the falcon's ego somewhat. Having one of the largest organizations on Avalice essentially give up actively trying to kill you can do that, after all.

But then again, she shouldn't put her mind on such things. She has to put her mind on what's going on right now, and not what has happened in the past.

After her incident with Kyushei, she had learned several things about her Affinity through her newfound occupation as an assassin. For starters, she could be as reckless as she wants with her Affinity, as the mere fact she can freeze blood inside the body from a distance means that she wouldn't be able to leave any trace of her identity. Another thing she has learned is that the technique isn't very precise on moving targets, such as those aiming to attack, and Fire elementals, which did not surprise her much, if at all. Otherwise, Ice Manipulation was almost the perfect Affinity to get in, do the job, and get out, all the while with no police officers finding out where she was. Of course, she had to be careful with video cameras, but that's with any assassination job. Any trace that could lead back to her would be devastating.

Yet she always took notes on her targets, from any trace she can find of them. Detailed ones, at that. Early on, she had learned the importance of learning your target inside and out before attacking. If you knew the several weaknesses of your opponents, then you know your own strengths and your own weaknesses against them. For instance, if an opponent of hers manipulates fire, then she may have to find a way to catch them in a location with a fire extinguisher nearby, or even a body of water, such as a lake.

She looked at her notes for one of her targets. She had been slacking on this one, yet she knew the payoff would be quite impressive nonetheless.

Name: Leonel Ferdinand  
Age: 45  
Element: Wood  
Affinity: Unknown. Likely does not have one.  
Occupations: Jinzhen's Ambassador to Shang Mu.  
Relations: Wife: Sophie Ferdinand, polecat, no children. Wife is not an Affinity User.  
Other Notes: Is very gullible. Can be easily taken advantage of with careful talking. Will be in the Mayor's Hotel. Prize money for death is 1,000,000 gems, courtesy of Marwin Rochester.

…Why was she slacking on this? This was going to be a cakewalk for her…

* * *

"Hey, we've got an order for Ferdinand, room 909!" A gruff feminine voice echoed through a kitchen. "Two glasses, the finest wine we got, and an order of spring rolls!"

"Got it!" A young white bird chirped as she got the order gathered together. A bottle of _Dragon's Blood_ wine was put into an ice bucket, with two wine glasses onto a delivery cart. The spring rolls followed soon after. "Anything else?"

"Nope!" The gruff voice responded, the bird taking the cart to the main lobby.

The bird smiled as she soon got into an elevator. Another white bird, wearing a black hoodie, was standing there.

"Oh, hello!" The first bird spoke, getting in the elevator with the avian. "What floor?"

"Ninth." The other curtly responded.

"Oh? Well then…" The bird spoke, pressing "9" as the elevator rode upwards.

"…So, how's the weather?" The first bird asked, only to get no response. Then something caught her eye…

"Hey… Why is the elevator camera broken?" She then asked.

"Dunno. It was like that when I came in." The hooded bird responded. "But I've got more important things on my mind."

"Such as?"

"How can I kill you and take your clothes before the elevator reaches the ninth floor?"

When the elevator dinged on the ninth floor, only one white bird made it out. And it certainly wasn't the rather unfortunate waitress, who was stuffed underneath the cart, naked with a broken neck.

The falcon approached a pair of double doors marked "909" and rapped on the left door three times. "Hey, got an order for a _Leonel Ferdinand._ " She spoke.

A large cat soon opened the door, beaming from ear to ear. "Ah, this is _wonderful!_ " Leonel grinned. "Sophie, come here!"

"In a second!" A feminine voice called from the back.

"Ah, that's right, she's taking a shower…" Leonel sighed. "I'll take the cart for you."

The falcon sweated somewhat. _Shit. Not what I wanted, but at the same time… I'll have to make do._ "Alright." She spoke, giving the cart to Leonel.

"Thank you!" Leonel spoke, pulling the cart inside. "...Is it just me, or is the cart somewhat… _Heavier?_ "

"Dunno what you're talking about." The falcon responded, going in the room. Leonel's room was _very_ expansive, with a flatscreen TV and an expansive view of the Shang Mu skyline below. The room was painted a nice beige tone, with burgundy sofas and a dining room table to the left of the doors. A bedroom was to the right, and had another TV of its own.

"Alright, how much will that be?" Leonel asked, taking out his wallet and pulling out a credit card. "1,000 or so?"

"Actually, it's a bit more than that." The falcon responded, closing the door behind her and slowly approaching Leonel.

"Hm?! What's the meaning of this?!" Leonel growled, standing on his guard. "What are you doing?!"

"Nothing." The falcon responded. The door locked behind her as she stared down the feline in front of her. " _I'm just doing my job._ "

"What are you-" Leonel began to say, only to feel a sharp pain in his chest. "Wha… What the…"

"Hm. Seems you're not an Affinity User, just as I suspected." She spoke, kneeling next to the feline. "Otherwise, you'd have tried some bullshit with me as soon as I walked in the door."

"Who… Who _are_ you..?" Leonel gasped.

"Saying my name would be rather detrimental. Now just lie down there and die. I've got other business to take care of." She spoke, leaving Leonel behind.

"Please… Don't… Hurt… Sophie…" Leonel coughed, only to die on the spot. The white falcon completely ignored him, and began to move to the bathroom in the bedroom. Of course, the door was locked, but it didn't stop her. Nothing did, anyways. Utilizing an ice hand, she unlocked the door from behind, and walked right in.

"Leonel?" Sophie called out. "I already told you, I'm in the shower… And how did you even get in here anyways?! Do we have to call the hotel an-"

"Got news for you." The falcon spoke, opening the shower door with an ice hand, startling Sophie. She moved to let out a shriek of terror, only for a blue ice hand to move over her mouth, blocking any noise that would try to come out of her mouth.

"Now, what's this all about, hm?" The falcon spoke, moving closer to the shower, yet not entering it. "Why would you be trying to scream _here_ of all places? It isn't like anyone would hear you."

Sophie began to cry, pressing herself against the wall, her tail and arms trying to protect her decency from her assailant.

"Besides, I just need to take care of you before leaving. No one will know…" The falcon spoke, before Sophie felt a similar sharp pain in her chest… And fell down, lifeless.

"And so another day's work is complete." The falcon spoke, the ice hands breaking apart, as if they never even existed in the first place. "And as for that kid… Eh, I'll just leave them here."

* * *

 _Half an hour later._

"Sweet Ancients, where the hell is she…" A female bear groaned. "She should be here by now… Hm."

Deciding to take matters in her own hands, she went up to Room 909 and knocked on the door. "Hey, Muzai! You in there?!" She called. "You were supposed to be back here about 20 minutes ago! You better not be doing any damn funny business with the Ambassador!" …Yet there was no response. No one called back. Not Leo, not Sophie, not Muzai. There was an eerie air about the situation…

Fearing for the worst, the bear took out the Master Key…

…And saw the worst.

* * *

The police were quickly called to investigate the scene in Room 909, and what they saw was absolutely horrifying. Muzai, a young waitress with dreams of becoming a model, had her neck violently snapped, and left next to the cart containing the _Dragon's Blood_ wine. Leo Ferdinand was not too far off, and Sophie was dead in the shower. The police, of course, were left dumbfounded.

"It just… _It doesn't make any damn sense!_ " A red panda cop shouted. "I mean, _tell me,_ how the fuck can something like this happen?!"

"I have no idea, Kaede…" A corgi officer responded. "I mean, you gotta admit this is like the heart attacks that have been going on with those-"

His conversation was interrupted by a bird entering the room behind them. He was tall, with pitch black feathers and yellow eyes that seemed to glare straight into your soul. He wore a dark trench coat and long dark jeans, alongside dark boots. "Shane Thompson, Federal Investigator for the Kingdom of Jinzhen." He introduced. "What have you found out?"

"Hm?" Officer Kaede responded. "Oh, it's the same exact thing that we've been having to deal with these past few months or so. High ranking government offi-"

" _Yeah, I get that._ " Shane interrupted, moving to the corpses of Leo and Muzai. "The bird's neck seems to have been violently snapped, as if it were a quick job. And Leo… There doesn't seem to be a sign of something wrong with him." Shane stood up and looked to the two cops. "Call in the Medical Examiner. I want an autopsy done on Leo and Sophie Ferdinand _immediately._ "

"Got it!" Officer Kaede replied, immediately pulling out his phone to call in the Medical Examiner.

Shane's eyes seemed to stay on the bodies for a while, taking in every last detail of them. _The horror… The absolute horror…_

"Excuse me, sir, but I know someone who might know what happened at this scene." The corgi officer spoke.

"…Hm?" Shane spoke, his train of thought interrupted. "I'm sorry?"

"Well, there's this Private Investigator who has been looking at cases like these for a while." The corgi responded. "Her name is Minato Hashimoto. Maybe you can have her take a look at this?"

"…No. I don't deal with Private Investigators. This is a serious matter that has to be dealt with before suspicions of any political motivation arise from Jinzhen." Shane responded.

"But that's the thing. She sleeps a lot, but… She has, like, a damn near perfect track record with these sorts of cases." The corgi spoke. "I dunno how she does it, but she sleeps in a crime scene and knows, like, every detail."

…And _that_ was enough to pique Shane's interest.

"…And tell me, _what was her name, again?_ " Shane asked. "Minato?"

"Umm… Yeah." The officer answered. "I can give you the address if you-"

"No need. I'll find her myself." Shane responded. _Sleeping in a crime scene and knowing almost everything that happens… If that's not an Affinity, then I don't know what is. And the fact that this is such an isolated area… This is perfect._

"Anything else, sir?" The officer asked.

"No. Carry on with your investigation." Shane responded, soon getting into the elevator and going down…


	6. Chapter 5: Another Morning

**Chapter 5: Another Morning**

"MINATO! You've got a visitor!" The voice of Mr. Wang echoed through Minato's intercom. "And you'd better have some _good reason_ for this one!"

Minato sighed. Of course, it was definitely like Mr. Wang to be this loud, but then again, he's speaking as if she were in trouble. "Um… What's going on?" The blue haired panda asked through the intercom. "Who's-"

"Excuse me, sir." Another voice spoke in the background of the intercom. "Can I just speak to her personally? I just need a room num-"

"1-964." Mr. Wang was heard saying before hanging up. Minato blinked twice. "…What ju-"

The door was knocked a few times, an avian silhouette very clearly visible. "Minato, are you there?" The voice asked. "I need to speak with you."

Minato got up to open the door, revealing a tall crow staring down at her. His countenance was grim, yet he didn't seem like an average client.

"Shane Thompson. Federal Investigator for the kingdom of Jinzhen." The crow spoke. "It has come to my attention that you have something that may help in an investigation I am partaking in."

"Huh?" Minato asked. "Well, what is it?"

"Tell me, do you have an Affinity?" Shane asked Minato, only for the panda to look shocked that he asked the question. "…I'll take that as a yes."

"Wait, how did you know?" Minato asked, only for Shane to walk in and sit down on one of the chairs in the room.

"I've heard a lot about you, particularly from officers who are familiar with your work." Shane spoke. "Right now, I'm dealing with a case of suspected assassination, and there doesn't seem to be a defined culprit."

"Okay, but… My Affinity doesn't bring up anyone I don't know." Minato spoke, sitting down across from Shane in her desk. "So, do you have any description of the suspect?"

"The suspect is a young, female white bird." Shane simply spoke. "We believe this to be the case from the fact that a waitress in the hotel where the assassination took place was killed before the crime was committed. Other than that, we've got nothing."

"No name, general age range, clothing, anything else?" Minato asked. "I mean, there'd have to be _something_ that can be used here…"

"Aside from the age being in either her late teens or early 20s, no." Shane responded. "We looked up every suspect who may have a reason to do this, alongside a list of known assassins, but we have come up short. There aren't that many young, female, white bird assassins that we know of."

"Uh huh…" Minato spoke. "And do they have an Affinity?"

"It is believed that they do, since the victims' hearts were directly harmed with no point of entry." Shane answered. "Common theories include heart attack inducement, bloodbending, or muscular manipulation, none of which seem to be the case."

"…Alright." Minato spoke. "And who were the victims?"

"Leo and Sophie Ferdinand, the former being the ambassador to Shang Mu from Jinzhen and the latter being his wife, alongside Muzai Yamagishi, a 17-year-old waitress for the Shang Mu Mayor's Hotel." Shane replied. "Hopefully this should bring you enough info for your Affinity to work."

"…I mean pictures." Minato sighed. "But then again, I guess I wasn't specific enough."

"You weren't." Shane spoke, digging in his bag to bring out the three victims' pictures. "Will this help now?"

"…Absolutely." Minato smiled. "Let's go."

"Hm. Good to hear." Shane spoke.

And afterwards, the duo went towards Shane's car, driving their way to the Mayor's Hotel…

* * *

 _Phoenix Highway_

The panda and crow were driving along the Shang Mu's section of the inter-kingdom highway, driving towards the location of the incident.

"How come you drive instead of flying?" Minato asked. "I mean, can't you-"

" _Not every bird wants to fly._ " Shane spoke tartly. "...And not everyone _can_ , Minato. It isn't exactly an inherent ability every bird has."

"But… You're perfectly capable of doing so…" Minato pointed out, only to be ignored for a while.

"So… Is Mr. Wang _always_ like that?" Shane asked, moving on from the initial conversation. "I mean, he's so… _loud._ How did he get into his position?"

"Honestly, beats me." Minato sighed. "I haven't exactly seen him do much of anything, to be honest. Supposedly he was a _really good_ investigator, but I highly doubt it."

"Same here." Shane spoke. "He seems to have lost his way, if I were being honest."

"...So…" Minato spoke. "...You're a detective like me?"

"Federal Investigator, yes." Shane answered. "I started private about a decade or so ago, but I got to where I am after about… _Five years?_ It's been a while since I started the whole job, but it's a good paying job."

"Technically I'm working for the government as well." Minato noted. "Zao hired me to investigate the Kyushei murder."

"...Then you're rather lucky." Shane noted. "No matter what answer you come up regarding it, then you've got a clear way to a Federal Investigator position like me."

"You've got a point." Minato responded. "But… If I'm honest, I don't think I'd be cut out for that sort of job."

"What are you talking about?" Shane spoke. "It's not _that_ different."

"Well, that's the thing. I just want to live somewhat quietly, you know?" Minato spoke. "I mean, I want to be a good detective, for sure, but… With how things are after Zao became elected, I don't want to be in front of cameras all the time."

"Good point." Shane spoke. "The man knows how to… _Publicize_ himself."

"Tell me about it." Minato sighed.

The silence grew to encompass the entire car, an atmosphere of sheer awkwardness growing.

"...Is there anything on the radio?" Minato asked. "Just wondering."

"To be fair, we do need some ambient noise." Shane added, turning on the radio.

"...Are your tires brok-... Come on down to the _greatest_ private hotel experience you will ev-..." The radio tuned as Shane was looking for a channel.

"...Breaking news. The media mogul of Crimson Records has been attacked by an Affinity User." The radio spoke. Shane then stopped tuning. "The CEO of the company, Go Jackson, has his face horrifically disfigured after getting into an argument with the #1 female-led band in Shang Mu, the Pop Rocks. The prime suspect, Kireina Saru, has been missing from the band ever since the incident. Other members are calling for her to return, but to no avail. If anyone has seen her, please contact your local authorities…"

"...Huh. Wonder where that will go." Shane spoke. "Have you heard their music?"

"...Eh?" Minato spoke, shrugging. "I mean, it's nothing _special,_ but I don't think it's really anything _bad,_ per se. Just not my personal preference, though to be honest, I just wish they weren't so… _Loud,_ you know?"

"I don't see what you mean." Shane spoke.

"Well, it's like controversy basically _surrounds_ them." Minato spoke. "I guess I just grew tired of hearing the news relating to it after a while."

"Understandable. The media's cycle does get tiring after a while." Shane spoke. "...We're here."

"Huh?" Minato asked, only to look out the window. They were already at the hotel. "Wait… How-"

"Come on." Shane spoke, getting out of the car with Minato and heading into the hotel itself.

* * *

"…And this is where the crime took place." Shane spoke, leading Minato to the crime scene. "We can't exactly disturb the preservation efforts to make a good place to sleep, so-"

"Don't worry." Minato brushed aside. "I don't exactly need a whole bed made for me."

"…So what _do_ you need?" Shane asked… Only for Minato to collapse on the floor, unresponsive.

"Minato!" Shane exclaimed, only to stop himself. _Wait… This has to be her Affinity, right?_ The crow thought as the panda was seemingly sleeping on the carpeted floor. … _This is one strange ability she has. Highly situational, yet… It should work._

Shane rested against a wall and pulled out his phone to pass the time, texting his friends and family, checking e-mails, looking at the weather for later… And Minato was still unresponsive.

"…How long does her fucking Affinity need to take in order to work?!" Shane shouted in exasperation. "It's like she's in a damn coma!"

Shane opened up one of Minato's eyes and shone a bright light from a pocket flashlight into the pupil. It retracted for sure, yet there was still no response aside from that.

"…She's in a coma." Shane sighed, resting against the wall. "Of course she has to, it's not just sleep…"

And just as he said that, Minato got up. "Alright, I know what happened." Minato spoke. "Also, you didn't have to shine whatever light you did into my eye."

"I wanted to make sure you weren't _dead._ " Shane bluntly responded. "And how do you know about me shining the light into your eye?"

"The light pretty much blinded one of my eyes while I was trying to go through the scene." Minato responded. "It certainly was an experience trying to see the entire thing with one eye."

"Alright, so what happened?" Shane asked. "Any details you could obtain?"

Minato breathed. "Alright… So the suspect walked into the hotel and froze the security camera, then breaking it."

"Hm? _Freezing_ it?" Shane asked, intrigued. "Ice-related Affinities are somewhat common, last I checked…"

"Yes, but then the suspect went into the elevator and waited for the waitress to walk in." Minato continued. "The suspect summoned two hands made of ice out of thin air to snap her neck."

Shane blinked. "…Alright… Go on?"

"Afterwards, the suspect took her clothes and walked into the room. Then Leo and Sophie both collapsed on the floor." Minato spoke. "And that's all the major information I can get."

"…So the user is highly skilled in using an Affinity related to ice, and does assassination missions. Only one conclusion I can draw from this."

"And that is?" Minato asked.

"Whomever did this is somehow associated with the Red Scarves in some way, shape or form." Shane answered. "Their professional conduct and large population of Affinity Users would mean that there should be someone in their ranks that matches the description of the suspect."

"But that's the thing… I don't think it's them." Minato replied. "They would have claimed responsibility by now."

"…True. That, and there is no reason for them to try and initiate something as large as an inter-kingdom war with this act…" Shane thought. "…Then we've got nothing aside from more information on what their Affinity is."

Minato solemnly nodded. "Well, then is there anything else you need?"

"…No." Shane spoke. "...That is, aside from looking for the location of the Scarves' hideout."

"Huh?" Minato asked. "But I thought-"

"Yes, but you forget how deeply the Scarves are connected to the criminal underworld." Shane interrupted. "And because of that, I should go there _anyways._ "

"...Alright." Minato spoke. "It's off of Phoenix Highway, and it's on a bit of a beaten road. However, when you reach some tall trees, _that_ is when you know you're there. There will be a gate, assuming you're not stopped by a Scarf beforehand."

"...And you know this _because…_?" Shane inquired.

"Because the Red Scarves were the first suspects. I had to find out where they were by tracking a past job they did."

"...Hm. Thank you, Minato." Shane noted, writing the details down. "I'll see if I can find it based on your direction. Hopefully I can get someone who can find it."

"You're welcome, sir." Minato responded. "Guess you'll take this case from now on?"

"Yes." Shane replied. "Hopefully I can get an answer for this in the coming days. If not, then you'll be the first to know, Minato."

"Alright." Minato smiled.

"...But how will you get back home?" Shane asked just before he left the room.

"...I'll call a cab?"

"However you find your way back, it doesn't matter, so long as you get there." Shane spoke. "I wish you safe travels."

"Thank you." Minato spoke before Shane left, leaving the panda alone at the crime scene. "Now to see how much money I have in my…"

...About 200 Gems.

"...That's not going to be anywhere near enough." Minato sighed. "Looks like I'll have to hoof it a good leg of the journey."

And so, Minato left the hotel, walking back to the Shang Mu Detective Agency. It would take quite a while for her to get there...


	7. Chapter 6: Sheer Heart Attack, Part One

**Chapter 6: Sheer Heart Attack, Part One**

 _Red Scarves HQ, Outskirts_

A small car drove near the entrance to the gates to the Red Scarves headquarters, and soon, Shane had stepped out and saw a large, imposing gate. "Hm... This had better be the place..." Shane spoke as he soon walked around, looking for a way to get past the gate. "I swear if she was lying about this one..."

A young dragon-rabbit chimera, being around 10 years old or so, was at the top of one of the nearby trees, hidden from Shane's view at the moment. He had dark cerulean hair, and dodger blue fur with white hands, feet, tail, and muzzle. His horns were a near-maya blue, and his eyes were a vibrant lime green. He was wearing a myrtle green vest with dull light green chevron motifs, dark green shirt, and dark green shorts with dull light green vertical stripes. His shoes and fingerless gloves are also myrtle green with dull light green chevron motifs on the front of the shoes and the back of the gloves, and the shoes would have black soles. He also wore a dark gray belt with a silver buckle with a blue cyclone-esque emblem on it. Of course, he would also be wearing a red infinity scarf, a telltale sign that he's one of the members of the Red Scarves. The chimera was immersed in reading his comic book, but once Shane spoke, he was quick to shove the book into his backpack and zip it up before looking towards the crow, watching his moves from the top of the trees. _Welp... Now's a good time to ask what the heck he's doing here_. The blue chimera thought before he put his backpack on and began leaping between the trees, getting closer to the gate. After he landed on a tree branch that was close enough to the gate, he stood up on the branch and looked towards Shane. "Hey you! What are ya doin' here? You lost or somethin'?" he spoke out to the crow.

Shane blinked twice, looking for who said it, only to find the dragon-rabbit calling to him. _This kid... Isn't he a bit too young to be in the Scarves?_ Shane thought, although he brushed that thought aside. "Oy! I need someone's help!" Shane called to the dragonblood. "I'm trying to look for someone!"

"Alright, but who are you?" Kaito asks as he jumps off of the branch and lands on the ground safely, looking towards Shane and walking towards him. "Also, who are ya lookin' for, anyways?" He then asks, stopping when he's close to the gate that separated the two. The dragonblood then begins tapping his right foot and placing his hands on his hips as he waits for answers from the crow.

The crow sighed. "Shane Thompson, Federal Investigator for Jinzhen." Shane responded, flashing a badge. "I'm looking for a suspect implicated in an assassination. I've reasoned that it can't be one of you, but given your connection to the criminal underworld, I thought it'd be okay to ask and see." Shane cleared his throat. "Do you happen to know of a white, female avian with ice powers? Probably in her late teens or early twenties?"

"Oh wow, you're far from home, aren't you?" The dragonblood quips. "Anyways... Yeah, we know about her. That ice queen isn't with us, and because we lost a lot of people to her, the head honchos here gave us orders to leave her alone. Last I heard, that ice queen killed like... What, around 75 of us?" He then spoke.

"What?!" Shane blurted in surprise. "H-How can... Hrm..." Shane then paced himself. "Alright... So you know who I'm talking about. I was going to look for someone who can surveil her and take notes to pass on to the proper authorities, but since you're here already, can you get someone for me?"

"Actually, I can go out and do that myself." The chimera answered. "I know that sounds crazy, but I can handle myself in a fight. I even have wind powers!" He then exclaimed, summoning a ball of compressed air above his right hand to prove his point. "See? That's not the only thing I can do, but that should be enough to tell ya I'm not making that up." He continued as he despawned the air ball. "I know what I'm gonna be getting myself into if I accept, given how dangerous that ice queen is."

 _Another Affinity user..._ Shane noted. "Look, if you're that absolutely certain about it, then I guess you can go." Shane spoke. "If you succeed, I'll pay about..." It was then that the crow looked into his wallet and found a few credit cards. "...How's 10,000 sound? If you can not only gather detailed notes but also somehow capture her, I'll pay double." Shane spoke. _...It feels horrifically wrong to do this, but it has to be done if we are to catch her..._

The chimera's eyes widened, and he blinked incredulously at Shane's offer. "Okay, that's a lotta gems... Although can you excuse me for a moment while I talk to my boss about your offer?" he then asked Shane. "I've got a headset, so I can stay here and talk to him."

"Alright, go ahead." Shane spoke, leaning back on his car.

As he turned around and took a few steps away from the gate, he put his fingers to the base of his right ear, and pressed a button on the earpiece he was wearing. "Tornado here. Nothing's wrong, but a federal investigator's offering me 10,000 shards if I manage to get info on that white falcon lady with ice powers." he then spoke into the earpiece. "I was wanting to get the A-OK to accept it."

"Kaito, are you crazy?! We're to leave her alone! Who is that investigator and where are they from, anyway?!" An older male voice, sounding like he's in his late twenties, exclaimed on the other end.

"His name's Shane Thompson, and he's from Jinzhen, sir. He's willing to double the payment if I capture her, though." Kaito answered.

The voice sighs, regaining his composure. "...Are you sure you know what you're getting into, kid? If you screw up, you'll wind up dead like the poor saps who tried to fight her before."

"I know what I'm getting into, sir." Kaito responded. "I'll admit my odds of survival against her are low, but... I'm willing to give it a shot."

"So you're set on accepting, then?" the voice asked.

"Yes sir." Kaito answered.

"Alright. Here's some advice: Don't make it obvious you're a Scarf, and just run if she spots you." The voice suggested.

"Way ahead of ya, sir. In fact, that's part of my plan." Kaito answered, with a bit of a smug smirk on his face.

"...I see. If you're set on accepting his offer, I suppose I can't argue against it. Go ahead and accept. Good luck, kid. You're gonna need it." the voice concluded.

"Alright. Tornado out." Kaito concluded, then pressing the button again to hang up. Kaito turned back to face Shane, and walked towards the crow. "I got the A-OK to accept, and so... I accept." he then spoke.

"Alright. Good luck." Shane nods _. ...If this kid dies, I am definitely getting fired. Or killed. Maybe both._

"Thank you." Kaito responded. "Although... Is there anything else I should know before I head off?" he then asks.

"Not as far as I know, no." Shane spoke. "I know literally nothing on her aside from the fact she's in Shang Mu."

"Alright. Well, I'll be going now. See ya!" Kaito answered before going into the Scarves HQ to begin preparing for the mission.

* * *

 _Central Shang Mu, 3 PM_

The white falcon walked into the Shang Mu Coffee Emporium, waiting at the register for the cashier to... Wake up from a deep sleep.

"Hey!" The falcon snapped. "Wake up!"

"WH-Huh?!" The cashier yelled, stumbling backwards. "U-Uhh... Welcome to the Shang Mu Co-"

"Iced coffee." The falcon simply spoke. "No sugar, no cream, dark."

"A-Alright, ma'am, just give me a moment..." The cashier yawned, going to make the iced coffee as the falconess waited. _How the hell this thing didn't collapse thanks to this fuck is completely beyond me..._ The falcon thought, sighing...

Soon the cashier gave her the coffee. "That'll be-" She put down the around 20 Gems before leaving the building. "...Aw maaaann... I got short-changed again..." The cashier sighed. "Should've gotten... Like..." He then dozed off again.

Meanwhile, Kaito was walking on the sidewalk that the Coffee Emporium was next to as he actively looked around for the white falconess. Kaito had changed into a more civilian outfit, now wearing a mauve green graphic tee and black shorts. Kaito also opted not to wear his fingerless gloves, and had to refrain from wearing his red scarf, given the nature of the mission. The only thing that didn't change with Kaito's outfit was his shoes. Kaito also had his green camo backpack on his back, which served a dual purpose. Not only is it helping Kaito carry his supplies, as any good backpack should, but it also helps in passing himself off as a schoolboy. Kaito's eyes widened when he saw the white falconess he was looking for cross paths with him. _Wait... That's the ice queen!_ Kaito mentally exclaimed as he turned around and began following her, but keeping a good distance away from her to minimize suspicion.

The falcon pulled out a phone and began scrolling through it. But there wasn't really much to scroll through, since… Well, her social life was sparse, to put it lightly. That, and there wasn't much in the way of jobs, either. Things were rather slow, so she may as well take the day and enjoy it. She got on a street car and paid the toll, sitting down as she played a game of Columns while the car drove away…

…Unfortunately for Kaito, that means she was getting away at more than just a walking pace. He would have to find some way to catch up to her before she got away without raising suspicion.

 _Oh shoot! How do I catch up to her?!_ Kaito thought as he was in a mild panic as he racked his brain trying to think of what to do. _Jumping between the rooftops of buildings? Nah, that's too noticable... Wait a minute... I could just get the attention of the streetcar's driver, and get into the same streetcar as the ice queen! I have the gems to pay for the toll, but getting a seat that isn't close to the ice queen's is a heck of a gamble. Guess I'll have to play this by ear, then._ Kaito concluded as he began running down the sidewalk, swerving around people as he tried to stay close to the driver's window while he was pursuing the streetcar. "Hey! I wanted to get on!" Kaito shouted to the driver as he frantically waved towards them in the hopes of getting them to stop.

"Huh?!" The street car driver shouted, braking the vehicle as he opened the door for Kaito. "Listen, kid. You can't be late like that again. Also, where are your parents? Shouldn't you be in school?" The falcon looked up from her phone to see why the car stopped. _Hm. It's just some brat._ She thought, continuing to play on her phone.

Kaito ran up to the door, panting a bit as he got on the streetcar. "Sorry about that... I was running some errands for my parents, that's all." he spoke to the driver as he paid the toll. Kaito manages to find a seat that was far enough from the white falconess to avoid suspicion, yet close enough to keep an eye on her. As Kaito sat down, he had a mildly melancholic look on his face as his excuse reminded him of something. However, he soon shook off the expression he had as he looked around, noting the white falconess among the other people on the streetcar.

Unfortunately for Kaito, his excuse was not only overheard by the falcon, but he would notice she was looking dead on at him for a bit _. Hm. I wonder why the kid looked so sad for a second there._ The falcon thought as she looked at him. _Something happened to his parents, so it must mean his whole excuse is bullshit... Oh well. None of my business._ The falcon then resumed her game, not bothering to say a word.

 _...The ice queen spotted me, didn't she?_ Kaito thought, sweating slightly as he noticed her looking at him for a moment. Kaito then twiddled his thumbs and looked at his hands, trying to keep his composure. _She might've seen me being sad after I sat down, so she might think my excuse to the driver was a total lie... Then again, she might be the only one on here that didn't believe it. Regardless, it's okay. Just stay calm and focus on the mission._

The car drove for a while, hitting several stops until the falcon got off, going towards... A seafood restaurant?

Once the streetcar stopped near the restaurant, Kaito got off and followed the falcon, trying his best to keep enough distance away from her to minimize suspicion. _So the ice queen likes seafood. That might not be too important to know, but it's something._ Kaito thought as he continued following her

When the falcon got to the front desk, she was greeted by the clerk. "Hi, welcome to Longyuu Palace!" The lady smiled. "Do you have a reservation?"

"No." The falcon responded.

"Alright, well, we do actually have some tables available! Let me get them set up for you!" The clerk smiled as she walked over to the dining tables. The falcon then sat down, waiting for her table...

Kaito goes into the restaurant, looking around for the falcon as he approached the clerk _. I need to make an excuse for why I'm here... I guess I'll say that I'm saving a table for two of my friends, and I'll leave saying that they had a change of plans._ Kaito thought.

"Alright, you'll be at the back booth, ma'am!" The clerk smiled.

"Hm. Thanks." The falcon responded, putting her phone away, but not before getting a glimpse at Kaito. _Hey... WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE, IT'S THAT KID!_ The falcon would glare directly at Kaito as she walked over to her table.

"Eheh... Well, I don't know what sort of problem she has..." The clerk chuckled. "Now, how can I help you, young man?"

Kaito became somewhat unnerved, blinking and sweating slightly as he saw the falcon glaring right at him. _...That ice queen's getting suspicious of me, isn't she?_ Kaito thought, and it took a moment for him to register what the clerk asked _. Whatever, just answer the clerk._ "Oh! I don't have a reservation or anything, but I'm wanting to save a table for some of my friends." Kaito answered to the clerk. "They'll be here in about 30 minutes or so."

"Alright, let me get a table set up for you!" The clerk smiled, immediately grabbing a few menus.

Meanwhile, as for the falcon, she had a cold glass of ice water in front of her as she waited for her food, yet she wasn't drinking it. _I'm being followed. I fucking knew that nothing from the kid's story added up._ She thought. _But who is he a part of? Can't be the Shoheki or he'd be a bit less nervous around me. Can't be a former Kakuchu member because then he'd be trying to kill me. The Red Scarves gave up a while back... No. Something else is going on here, and why he isn't directly confronting me... Wait..._ Her eyes narrowed. _...He's working for the fucking law, isn't he?_

Kaito sat down and he waited for his table, twiddling his thumbs again. _I'm really hoping I don't get a table close to the ice queen..._ That would be a bit of a problem, given she's already suspicious of me. Kaito thought, then took a deep breath to keep his composure. _Just stay calm and you'll be fine._

The clerk came back. "Alright, sir! Your table is ready!" She smiled. "Right this way, please!" She spoke as she led him to his table, which, thankfully, was practically across the entire room from the falcon.

Kaito got up and followed the clerk to his table. Once Kaito was at his table, he looked around for the falcon, and found her across the room. _Oh thank the ancients this table's far from that ice queen..._ Kaito thought as he took a sigh of relief. He then picked up a menu and looked through it, occasionally taking a moment to look at the falcon to see what she was doing _. I might as well plan on ordering something so I don't look too suspicious to the restaurant staff..._ Kaito thought as he went back to looking at the menu.

The falcon, however, was still glancing over at Kaito. _Hm. I need to keep an eye on that kid, figure out what he's doing..._ She thought, when one of the waitresses came to her.

"Hello, ma'am, how may I take your order today?" The waitress spoke.

The falcon thought about it. "...Glass of seltzer water and some raw salmon." She simply responded.

"...Um, excuse me ma'am, we don't serve raw food here..." The waitress chuckled nervously. "Did you mean you wanted it cooked rare?"

"Look, if there's some bullshit health reason, then fine. Rare." The falcon spoke. "Alright..." The waitress then jotted down the note. "Anything else?"

"...How about the fried shrimp? Never had anything like that before." The falcon responded. "Ooh, excellent choice!" The waitress then added the order. "And will that be all?" The falcon simply nodded.

"Alright, shouldn't take long at all!" The waitress smiled before walking away.

Another waiter walked to Kaito. "Hello, sir, may I serve you something to drink?" He smiled kindly.

"Yeah, I'd like some lemonade, please." Kaito answered the waiter that walked up to him.

"Alright, coming right up!" The waiter spoke, leaving the rabbit chimera to himself. Meanwhile, the falcon would be on her phone, yet taking occasional glances at Kaito, just in case she catches him looking at her...

Kaito would pick up a menu that was placed on the table and he began looking through it in an attempt to blend in. _I probably won't be able to order anything today, but at least I can figure out what to get the next time I'm here..._ Kaito thought as he looked through the menu. Kaito took a quick glance at the falcon to see where she was before going back to looking at the menu he had in his hands. _The ice queen's already suspicious of me, so it might be a good idea to keep my glances to a minimum..._ Kaito mentally concluded as he flipped through the menu.

It took a while, but the waiters came with drinks for the two at almost the same time. The falcon got her seltzer water, while Kaito got his lemonade.

"Sir, when are your friends coming over?" The waiter asked Kaito. "Are you going to order for them?"

"Oh, they should be coming over in 20 minutes or so." Kaito answered the waiter as he grabbed his lemonade. "We're planning on ordering together once they get here." he spoke, then took a sip of his lemonade before setting the glass down.

"Alright, sir." The waiter smiled before leaving Kaito to himself. Meanwhile, the falcon was still waiting for her fish and fried shrimp. _...Not ordering anything. Looks like I'll have to eat quick._ She thought...

Kaito put the menu down and unzippped his backpack to grab an issue of the Captain Novastar comic he had on hand and began reading it in an attempt to look busy. While Kaito was reading the comic book, he would take quick, occasional glances at the falcon to see where she was at a given time. _When the ice queen leaves, I'll leave some gems to pay for the lemonade._ Kaito thought as he was reading his comic book.

The waitress approached the falcon, giving the falcon her fish and shrimps. "Enjoy!" The waitress smiled before leaving... ...And the falcon then began to absolutely _scarf_ down her food.

Kaito took another quick glance at the falcon, and he noticed her quickly eating her food _. I take it she wants to get out of here ASAP. Guess I'd better finish my lemonade while I'm here..._ Kaito thought as he picked up his glass of lemonade and took a few gulps. Kaito then puts the glass down and goes back to reading his comic book, still taking occasional glances at the falcon.

And thus, the falcon finished her food, leaning back and waiting for her check...

Kaito noticed the falcon having finished her food, so he take a moment to finish drinking the last of his lemonade. After setting the empty glass down, Kaito puts his comic book back into his backpack, zipping it up. _It might be a good idea to pay for the lemonade, since I'm going to be leaving soon..._ Kaito thought as he reached for one of his pockets. The dragon-rabbit took some gems out of his pocket to pay for the lemonade, and he put them right next to the empty glass. Kaito then twiddled his thumbs while still taking occasional glances at the falcon.

As soon as the falcon swallowed her last shrimp, the waitress soon walked over to her and received the payment for the food. After that, the falcon left... Somewhat slowly. She was walking, yet somewhat slower than normal. The waiter then got to Kaito. "I notice you've already got your money out. Are you sure you want to leave?" He asked.

Kaito cleared his throat before speaking to the waiter. "Yeah, my friends had something come up. Hoping you don't mind me headin' on home, then..." he spoke as he got up, put his backpack on, and began following the falcon out of the restaurant, keeping his distance while watching her. _Stay calm and follow the ice queen. I've got a feeling she'll notice me at some point, so I'll have to run when she does._ Kaito thought as he followed the falcon.

The falcon then turned to the alleyway next to the seafood restaurant and began walking into it...

Kaito followed the falcon into the alleyway, still keeping a relatively safe distance away from her. _I've got this gut feeling the ice queen's leading me into a trap..._ Kaito thought as he continued, trying to keep calm as he kept on following the falcon.

The falcon then turned a corner, going out of sight of Kaito...

Kaito walked a little faster, noting where the falcon turned towards while still following her. _I better not lose sight of her now..._ The dragon-rabbit thought, keeping his focus on the mission.

As soon as Kaito turned the corner to follow her, however, he was slugged straight across the face by a cold fist. He never saw where it came from, but it left him sprawling across the pavement.

"Aaaaagh!" Kaito yelped as he was punched in the face by the cold fist and fell backward _. Owwww... Great, my cover's blown! I gotta get out of here!_ The dragon-rabbit thought as he got up, grimacing and groaning as he tried rubbing his face to soothe the pain.

"I know you're following me, kid." The falcon spoke to Kaito, turning around to face him. "Ever since I got off that damn car, I _knew_ something was up."

"S-Stay back!" Kaito exclaimed as he materialized two balls of compressed air to his hands and threw them at the falcon before sprinting out of the alleyway _. Keep running and watch out for the ice queen. Hopefully I can lose her behind me…_ Kaito reminded himself as he ran, looking back for a moment to see if the falcon was chasing him.

 **To Be Continued...**


	8. Chapter 7: Sheer Heart Attack, Part Two

**Chapter 7: Sheer Heart Attack, Part Two**

"Alright." The falcon growled, the ice fists soon punching through the spheres and flying over to him, the ice hands grabbing onto Kaito's boot, causing him to trip harshly. Kaito yelped as his boot was grabbed and he tripped. The dragon-rabbit sat up and looked at the falcon, and fear was apparent on his face for a moment before he glared at her in an attempt to hide his fear. "Who are you, and who the hell do you work for?" The falcon asked, crouching beside him. "Law enforcement? Kakuchu? Those are literally the only two things that would be trying to go after me by this point."

"I-I-I'd be stupid if I outright told you my name or who I work for..." Kaito spoke. "But I'll say this... I'm not with any of those guys. Now back off, you ice queen!" He exclaimed before using his hands to generate two harsh jets of wind aimed toward the falcon, hoping to fling her away from him.

The falcon's eyes widened as she was flung backwards across the alley, landing flat on her back as she skidded to a halt. She got up rather quickly, however. "Oh, so we're giving each other cute little nicknames?!" The falcon spoke. "Then how about I give you one: _Roadkill!_ " The falcon then charged at the dragon-rabbit chimera, ice-fists ready for attack.

Kaito managed to take a metallic baton-like object out of his pocket and quickly pressed the button that was at its center. Using a telescoping mechanism, the object extended in length to form a staff. Kaito held it with both of his hands, staring down the falcon as she got up _. I figured I'd have to fight my way out of this one..._ Kaito thought. Thinking quickly, the dragon-rabbit expertly swings his staff, using it to rapid-fire multiple waves of compressed air at the falcon. "I'm not afraid of you!" Kaito shouts to the falcon before generating a tornado around his legs, hovering above the ground as he backed away from the ice queen and fired off more wind waves at her.

"If you were, then would you really run away?!" The falcon shouted as she flew out of the way of the wind waves and blasted Kaito with icicles.

Kaito narrowly dodges the icicles, getting a few scrapes from a few that were too close for comfort while managing to break some others with his staff. "I'm not suicidal, either!" The dragon-rabbit spat out as he aimed another jet of wind at the falcon, hoping to push her away far enough to allow him to escape. After pushing the falcon away, Kaito used his flight tornado to fly upwards to the nearby rooftops in an attempt to escape from the ice queen. _For now, I'm gonna run. Since my cover's blown and she's chasing me, I might as well try to cause a ruckus._ Kaito thought as he flew above the rooftops. _Granted, there will be witnesses, but I can use that to my advantage... Hopefully._

The falcon grimaced. Of _course_ she'd have to go public against the chimera in order to maintain her identity. _How the fuck am I going to do this..._ She thought, then noticing a red washcloth on the ground. "...You've got to be shitting me."

Kaito, while flying over the rooftops, would find the falcon flying towards him at a high speed with the red washcloth around her neck. While it wasn't a good disguise by any measure, it was enough to make the unaided observer think that she was a Red Scarf hunting down a target.

Kaito looked behind him and saw the falcon chasing him as he flew, noting the red washcloth around her neck. _Ah shoot... Most witnesses would think she's a Red Scarf. Then again, that's not much of a good disguise, so... It'll probably only fool civilians who aren't in the know about her killing Scarves members._ Kaito thought, then looked forward to see where he was flying. Thinking quickly, Kaito performed a loop-de-loop maneuver, intending to get behind the falcon for a surprise attack. Once behind the falcon, Kaito rapidly swings his staff to fire off multiple wind waves at her.

Smirking to herself, the falcon knew she had him right where she wanted. She sharply flew upwards soon after, causing Kaito to harshly crash into an ice pillar that she left behind as she ascended.

Kaito yelled in pain as he crashed into the ice pillar and fell onto the nearest rooftop, landing on his back and dropping his staff. The dragon-rabbit groaned in pain as he got to his knees and picked up his staff. Kaito looked around for the falcon and held his staff with both hands while anticipating another attack from her. _Shoot, she got me with that! Where is she now?!_ Kaito thought as he stood up, now in a bit of a panicked state as he tried to find the falcon.

A large shadow would form over Kaito. Looking up, he would see a swarm of icicles forming, then being shot towards his location.

As Kaito looked up, he gasped at the swarm of icicles and stared at them in fear for a brief moment, and then he just ran as fast as he could while trying to avoid getting impaled. _This is bad! She's gonna skewer me with one of those if I trip..._ Kaito thought to himself as he kept on sprinting away from the icicles, with a panicked expression on his face.

The falcon dived towards Kaito, firing icicles directly at his back as ice on the ground would quickly catch up to his feet, causing him to slip.

"Woah!" Kaito yelped as he began slipping on the ice. Thinking quickly, the dragon-rabbit intentionally fell forward and laid on the ground to dodge the oncoming icicles. After the icicles whooshed by, Kaito scrambled to his feet and ran to the edge of the roof. The dragon-rabbit would then jump down into a nearby alleyway, making wind jets at his feet to slow his descent. Once Kaito lands on the ground, he puts his back against the nearest wall, and looks around for the falcon as he tightly gripped his staff with both hands. _I've gotta knock out the ice queen, but she's hard to hit! What do I do?!_ Kaito thought, visibly sweating as he waited for the falcon's next move.

The falcon landed in the alleyway Kaito was hiding in, taking a deep breath. "Alright, Roadkill, get the fuck out here and make it easier for both of us by _allowing me to put you six feet under_." The falcon growled.

A shiver went down Kaito's spine, and he crouched to hide himself behind a nearby dumpster. _Ohhhh, this is bad..._ Kaito thought as he began shaking in fear. _Very few of my attacks landed, and she kept on surprising me!_ He mentally continued while racking his brain for ideas on how to get out of this troublesome situation. _Wait a minute... Could I pull the air out of the ice queen's lungs?_ Kaito mentally asked himself. _I mean... I literally have no idea if I can even do that, but I'll have to try._ The dragon-rabbit took a few breaths, managing to calm himself down. _Okay... I'd form a ball of air around the ice queen's head, and... I guess I'd move the air in her lungs outward and into the ball? Ancients, I hope it'll work that way..._ He thought, sweating bullets once more as he steeled his nerves in preparation for his approach. _Well... Here goes nothing._ Kaito thought shortly before he got out of his hiding spot and turned to face the ice queen, quickly using one hand to spawn a ball of air around the falcon's head. Kaito closed his eyes and looked away, grimacing as he was expecting to be brutally impaled with icicles.

"THERE YOU A-" The falcon began to shout, only to start choking. Her eyes began to water as she collapsed onto her knees, having air forced out of her lungs. "Wh-What the...?!" The falcon began to gasp. An ice hand tried to grasp Kaito, yet the hand moved weakly.

 _Shit... I... I'm going to die from a fucking kid, aren't I..._ The falcon thought, only to get an idea. Well, _shit... It's damn near suicidal, but it's my only shot..._ The falcon began to grunt and gasp in pain, collapsing on the ground, her eyes glazed over.

Kaito had heard the falcon falling to her knees, and opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. The dragon-rabbit blinked incredulously at what he managed to pull off. _Did... Did that work?! Oh thank the ancients!_ Kaito thought, taking a sigh of relief. Although mild skepticism kicked in as Kaito raised an eyebrow in suspicion when the falcon fell down earlier than expected. _Hang on... I didn't think she'd faint that quickly... Better to be safe than sorry._ He thought, keeping the suffocating air ball active for a few seconds longer before causing it to disappear. Kaito gripped his staff with both hands and slowly approached the seemingly unconscious falcon. Once he was close enough, Kaito used the tip of his staff to prod the ice queen in the forehead, ready to jump back if she moves.

However, she just... Laid there. Her consciousness began to fade slowly, however... _If this fucker doesn't go into melee range then I'm gonna wind up choking myself from my own damn Affinity..._ She thought, slowly losing consciousness. _Come on... Drop… Your fucking... Guard..._

After a few more prods without a response from the ice queen, Kaito just shrugged. _Guess passing out that fast is a bird thing..._ He then concluded, pressing the button on his staff to compact it so he could slip it into his pants pocket. Once Kaito pocketed his compacted staff, he grabbed both of the falcon's wings and began dragging her to the side of the dumpster he was using as a hiding spot. _I don't think I could capture her without looking suspicious. So I'll just put her where I was hiding and head back to HQ..._ The chimera thought.

 _...NOW!_ The falcon quickly unfroze the air passages in her lungs, bringing the color back to her eyes as the ice hand had suddenly launched itself to the side of Kaito's head, already giving him a severe concussion. The falcon stood up, summoning yet another ice fist by her side, glaring at the dragon-rabbit as he stumbled to maintain his balance and surprise. Kaito screamed in pain as he was hit in the side of the head with the ice fist, and a look of absolute fear was on his face as the ice queen glared at him while he stumbled backwards.

The ice fists then moved to absolutely batter the chimera, giving him bruises, broken bones, and far too many blunt-force wounds to count. The fists moved so fast that, to Kaito, it seemed as if there were many more successively striking him one after the other as the falcon's cold glare cut directly into his sight. "Now DIE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" The falcon screamed, blasting Kaito with a volley of blue icicles, sending him to the far end of the alleyway. The icicles had pierced many vital organs, including his lungs, stomach, intestines, while also breaking the bones that were somehow left unbroken.

The dragon-rabbit wailed in agony as the ice fists slammed into him at incredible speeds and he saw the ice queen's chilling glare. The next thing Kaito knows, he finds himself impaled by blue icicles and flying towards the far end of the alleyway. Once he thuds against the wall, Kaito falls down to the ground like a ragdoll. He had bruises all over, bits of bone were poking out of his skin, and he was bleeding profusely. The icicles sticking out of his torso made for quite... gnarly wounds. Kaito just sat there, almost lifeless as his consciousness started to fade due to his serious wounds.

The falcon let off a sigh of relief. "That was close..." She spoke, then noticing Kaito's bag and beginning to rummage through it, noticing... His Red Scarf. She took it out and swapped it for the red washcloth. "Hm. Guess I really shouldn't have let my guard down, huh." The falcon mused. "Think you guys are off my tailfeathers for a split second, you just so happen to be stalking me instead. Thank you, kid. _Now I know to be more vigilant for next time_."

 _Oh ancients... I'm dying..._ He thought as he helplessly stared at the icicles that stuck out of his chest. But as Kaito stared at his wounds, he realized something. _Wait a minute... Are those... The same kind of icicle as the one that killed that Kyushei guy?! If so, that ice queen has to be his killer! But… I'm practically dying here, and I might not live long enough to tell that Shane guy... Might as well try sending a message to HQ anyways._ Using some of his remaining strength and an arm that was intact enough for him to use, Kaito double-presses the button on his headset to turn on the mic, and he lets his arm go limp once he hears it beep twice.

"T-Tornado here..." Kaito weakly spoke, coughing terribly and puking up a bit of blood. "Y-Y-You know the kind... of ice that killed Kyushei? It's the... same kind that... the ice falcon lady impaled me with..." the dragon-rabbit continued, coughing once more. "I'm... a few blocks east of... the Longyuu Palace, and... I'm hurt really badly. Please help..." Kaito weakly concluded, beginning to cry due to the intense pain he was feeling. _Well... I tried, at least. Kaito thought as he began to accept his fate. Guess I'm gonna die today, then..._ he then mentally concluded as he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

The falcon blinked, then approaching Kaito. She ripped the earpiece from his ear and threw it on the ground, stomping on it. To her, he was just about dead anyways, yet she couldn't be too cautious... She left the alleyway, blending in with the crowd as she took Kaito's bag with her. To her, it was just another day in her life.

It took a while, but Kaito saw a white and black silhouette jump down from above, seeming to... Change shape? He would only be barely able to hear a few words from it. "...He's still... Will bring him to HQ..." the silhouette spoke as it approached Kaito. His thoughts would be put at ease as the chimera saw the telltale Red Scarf associated with his allies.

 _A Scarf? I... I might actually be ok... Thank you, whoever you are..._ Kaito thought as he was picked up by his shirt, then he falling unconscious as he was lifted.

* * *

 _Red Scarves HQ, Evening_

Shane drove once more to the Red Scarves HQ to check in on Kaito, yet… Something didn't feel quite right. He got out of the car, only to feel a chill run down his spine. Someone was watching him, and he-

"You must be Shane Thompson, I presume?" A deep voice greeted behind him. The crow practically jumped out of his feathers as he turned around to face the man who had interrupted his thoughts. He was a tall, albino dragon, with bright red eyes, wearing a dark byzantium jacket with a grey back lining. Underneath his jacket was his red scarf and a black tank-top, neatly tucked into a pair of brown pants, which were in turn tucked into a pair of black, militaristic boots. To his waist was a _Wazikashi,_ a shortened katana typically used for close-quarters combat. However, the dragon's demeanor suggested that he did not aim to engage Shane in combat.

The crow tensed up regardless, just in case the approach was an act. "Who are you?" Shane asked the dragon. "Is Kaito okay?"

"I figured you would be checking up on him." The dragon calmly replied. "He had sustained grievous injuries in his fight against the falcon."

"Fight?!" Shane crowed. "I told him to take notes on her!"

"And take notes he did. She just noticed him and engaged him first." The dragon responded, still keeping up his calm. "Also, I suggest you calm down. You aren't acting very professional at all."

Shane grunted. "Look, I'm worried about the kid's safety, alright?" The crow told the dragon. "He threw himself headfirst into someone he knew would kick his ass, and-"

"And as he should." The dragon responded. "Sometimes, one must run before they can fly. He is currently within the Medical Bay, and is in somewhat stable condition."

Shane breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, thank goodness…" The investigator spoke. "Although… I didn't quite catch your name…"

"Of course…" The dragon spoke. "You may call me Jai."

* * *

The duo walked silently through the Red Scarves HQ, with a slightly unnerving air around Jai in particular, thanks to his rather peculiar calmness, especially regarding the situation.

"...So how long have you been dealing with her?" Shane asked Jai.

"Good question." Jai responded. "I couldn't bother following up on her, but I'd say it has been about... 4 years or so."

"A while back, Kaito mentioned that around 75 Scarves were killed by her." Shane continued. "Why is that?"

"For the most part, their motivations were revenge." Jai spoke. "We sent a Recruiter to the Shuigang Snowfields to retrieve her, someone rumored to be a feral Affinity User who may be able to be adjusted to a more civilized lifestyle. After she killed him, everyone else followed. Typically close friends or family of another victim of hers."

"...And why did the higher ups think that was a good idea?" Shane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, given that she's taking formal assassination work as of now, I'd say the theory on her adjusting to civilized life is correct." Jai replied.

"Alright, but if that's the case, then-"

"Why didn't I go against her?" Jai interrupted, sending a chill down Shane's spine.

 _...How the hell did he..._ "...Yes." Shane responded. "Is your Affinity telepathy?"

"No." Jai answered the second question. "As for your initial question, it isn't any of my business."

Shane was shocked. "None of your business?! Your friends and allies are getting killed by her, and your best decision is to-"

"Stand back and let them go." Jai finished. "If they so desired to fight her, then so be it. Their business is none of my own. Besides, sending me against her would be overkill, and I have a subordinate who could take care of her far more effectively."

"And what about them?"

"She, like myself, has greater things to worry about in her life than some random avian killing Scarves." Jai answered. "The Scarves change the face of the planet on a regular basis, our main concerns do not include someone like her."

Eventually, the duo approached Kaito's door. "This is it?" Shane asked the dragon.

"Yes, Kaito is in the room." Jai spoke, then opening the door for Shane to enter…

* * *

The medical bay was rather silent, Kaito being alone within the room within a pale body cast. It would only be a matter of time before he woke up...

Eventually, Kaito groans weakly as he awakens on the bed he was on. _I'm... I'm alive... Huh. I should thank whoever saved me from that one..._ Kaito thought to himself as he looked around and noted his surroundings. _I can't exactly do a whole lot from here, given how I'm in a body cast..._ The dragon-rabbit thought as he took a deep breath and began staring blankly at the ceiling.

There was talking outside the door of the medical bay. "...is it?" One voice spoke. "Yes. Kaito is in the room." Another spoke. A white dragon with a red scarf opened the door for the familiar black crow to walk in. The dragon glanced at Kaito before shutting the door later.

"Kid, I told you to get someone more suited..." He sighed. "And now look at you..." Shane groaned as he sat down on a chair. "Honestly, I may be more lucky to be alive than you are right now. Ancients know what would happen if the Red Scarves believed I convinced you to pretty much kill yourself." He spoke.

Kaito coughed a bit as Shane came in and sat down. "Hey... I survived, so... What's the problem?" he weakly spoke. "You know about... the whole thing with the icicles that hit me, right?" he then asked. "Even though I'm a kid, I knew what I was getting into, and... I was fully aware my chances of survival were slim." Kaito then spoke, sighing. "Apologies for causing you to worry about me like that..." the dragon-rabbit concluded before coughing a bit.

"...Yeah, what about the icicles?" The crow asked Kaito.

"Well... Those are the same kind that... was found to have killed that Kyushei guy." Kaito weakly responded, coughing a bit once more.

Shane blinked. "...Excuse me?" He asked. "...What did you just say?"

"The kind of icicles that the ice queen shot at me... are the same kind that killed Kyushei." Kaito confirmed. "I saw the broadcast of the dude's death when it happened, and... When I saw the icicles poking out of my chest, I put two and two together and... figured it out." the dragon-rabbit concluded, smirking the best he could. After Kaito responded, two girls ran into the medbay to check up on him. The first girl was a snow leopard-dragon chimera around the age of 8 or so. She has lighad light gray horns, gray fur with black rings filled in with white, golden hair, and malibu blue eyes. She was wearing a red infinity scarf around her neck, a piper orange vest with dark orange pockets and an anzac yellow flame pattern, black fingerless gloves with piper orange cuffs adorned with another anzac yellow flame pattern, dark orange shorts with black belt that has an anzac yellow buckle, and dark orange boots with a dull flame decal on the toes and black soles.

The second girl was a malamute, who was around the age of 10 or so, like Kaito. She had a stocky build, and was a bit bigger than most girls her age. She has mojo red hair, cedar wood red and sandy tan fur, and red ruby-esque eyes. Like most in the room, she was wearing a red infinity scarf, black fingerless gloves, a blue stone combat vest, blue stone-colored armbands with light blue cyan stripes at the end closer to her elbows, blue stone-colored boots with light blue cyan stripes at the end closer to her knees and black soles, and black cargo shorts with blue stone-colored pockets, and a jade belt with a light blue cyan buckle.

"Kaito, you're awake! Thank the ancients you survived..." The malamute remarked as she looked at the injured Kaito.

"Hey Alice, hey Nella... I never thought I'd see you two again... Guess I'm wrong." Kaito spoke, smiling.

"So that ice queen hurt you that badly, huh? Well, the next chance I get, I'm gonna torch her to a crisp!" Alice, the snow leopard, boasted, hitting her open left hand with her right hand made into a fist.

"Alice! You know that ice falcon's really dangerous! Just look at how messed up Kaito got from encountering her..." Nella spoke.

"I know, but I really wanna mess the ice queen up for hurting Kaito!" Alice exclaimed. "Also, who is that crow guy?" she then quipped as she looked at Shane.

… _Oh bother, this is what Jai mentioned with how many Scarves want revenge for that falcon messing up a friend or ally…_ Shane worriedly thought. _Like lemmings off of a damn cliff…_

"Oh, him?" Kaito weakly asked. "He's Shane Thompson, the guy I... accepted the mission to do recon on the ice queen from."

"Uh-huh. What's he doin' here?" Alice then asks, tapping her foot.

"He's probably getting info from Kaito about his encounter with the ice queen, so be quiet!" Nella answered.

"Okay geez. Ya didn't have to yell at me..." Alice responded, shrugging.

"...Thanks for introducing me _for me,_ Kaito..." Shane sighed. "And as for you..." Shane spoke, glancing at Nella and Alice. "Please keep quiet as I ask him the details regarding the incident."

"Ok, gotcha." Nella responded to Shane. Alice rolled her eyes, but kept quiet.

Shane turned back to the dragon-rabbit. "What was the last time your organization encountered her before today?" He asked.

"Anyways..." Kaito spoke, then cleared his throat. "As far as I know, the last time we encountered her was... near the Shoheki HQ in Shuigang. Although I've heard rumors that... she might have been involved with a convoy incident that went down on Phoenix Road on the day of Kyushei's death." Kaito continued, coughing a bit.

"...Have you asked this 'Shoheki' about her?" Shane asked.

"As far as I know... We did ask them, but they... insisted that they had nothing to do with her." Kaito weakly answered.

"...Uh huh. And did you look any deeper than merely asking them? Eyewitness accounts, anything of the sort?" Shane then asked.

"I was thinking... The convoy driver could've mentioned her... To Coral and Spade." Kaito responded, coughing a bit. "Don't know for sure, though..."

"...Hm." Shane spoke, getting up. "Alright. I'll leave you to recover. But first, I'd need to pay you..." The crow began shuffling through his bag, bringing out two bags of crystals and putting them at Kaito's bedside. "Given you've found the perpetrator of Kyushei's murder at the same time, it seems only fair that I give you the bonus I promised anyways, despite her lack of capture." Shane spoke.

"Oh?" Kaito muttered when Shane put the two bags of crystals at his bedside. "Well uh... Thank you sir." He then spoke.

Alice and Nella blinked somewhat incredulously at the two bags of crystals that Kaito got. _Dang... That guy must be stupidly rich to just give Kaito that much money for a recon mission..._ Alice thought. _Then again, it was about that ice queen, so... I guess that's a reasonable payment._

 _Kaito told us that Shane was a federal investigator from all the way up in Jinzhen, so... It's probably not much of a surprise that he's likely to have a lot of money on hand one way or another._ Nella thought.

 _Y'know... I'm kinda proud that I survived an encounter with the ice queen._ Kaito thought, smirking for a moment. _Granted, I'm all sorts of messed up from her beatdown, but I'm just rolling with the punches here._

"I suppose I'll make my way back." Shane spoke, walking to the door. "I wish you a safe recovery, Kaito." The crow then spoke, leaving the dragon-rabbit with his friends...

"Thanks, and... good luck with your investigation." Kaito spoke to Shane as he left.

"Now that that investigator's gone... Now what?" Alice asked.

"I guess we can just go back to our training, then..." Nella answered.

"Oh yeah, that! Now I wanna train harder so I can kick the tar out that ice queen when I get the chance to!" Alice exclaimed. "Bye Kaito! Get well soon!"

She blurted out as she ran out of the door to go back to the training room. Nella simply sighed. "...I gotta go to make sure she doesn't totally shred or incinerate another punching bag."

"Yup, that's Alice for ya." Kaito spoke, then smiling a bit as he chuckled.

"We'll be visiting you often, or at least as much as we can. Bye Kaito, and I hope your recovery goes well..." Nella spoke as she began leaving the room as well.

"Ok... See you next time, Nella..." Kairo spoke, coughing a bit. After Nella left, Kaito stared blankly at the ceiling, sighing. _Well... I can't do a lot in my condition, so I might as well try sleeping…_ Kaito thought shortly before closing his eyes and starting to drift to sleep.

* * *

"Gentlemen, I call this meeting into action." A diminutive purple-hooded figure spoke to two men. One of whom was a large ape with a purple eyepatch in an equally regal suit. The other was a muscular black feline with piercing yellow eyes, wearing a white muscle shirt and combat fatigues tucked into gray boots. The ape's name was Daichi Yamauchi, and the feline's was Jocho Fujioka, and the purple figure was none other than Lavender Doctor, the last remaining member of the Court of the Crimson King.

"Well, I have a fair bit of… _News_ to share." Daichi spoke. "I managed to get a _remarkable_ young woman into our ranks. She may be able to replace Jocho's girlfriend who left not too long ago."

"Oh _really_ now?!" Jocho spat at Daichi. "Because I could've _sworn_ it wasn't my fault she was sucking on your FAT MONKE-"

" **ENOUGH!** " Lavender Doctor screamed, then going into a coughing fit not too long after. "I'm getting _far_ too old for this, and petty drama like this will only get in the way of our final destination!"

"Hm." Jocho grunted, sitting back down. "So, what the hell else do we have?"

"Well, we managed to get a few bugs into the Red Scarves' medical bay near Shang Mu…" Lavender Doctor smirked. "And we have received _quite_ the treasure trove of info…"

"Such as?" Daichi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lavender Doctor had a wide grin on his face. " _The whereabouts and current status of Yuki Bo._ " Lavender Doctor spoke. " _She is alive, in Shang Mu, and, best of all, the law is already hunting her down._ "

"Oh, good, so we don't even have to do jack _shit_ to get her." Jocho smirked. "Gotta admit, this has got to be the best news I've heard all day."

"This does eliminate _one_ threat to us, but what about the Red Scarves and Shoheki?" Daichi asked Lavender Doctor.

"Those are bridges we'll have to cross when we get there." Lavender Doctor spoke. "Due to Kyushei's death, the next opportunity for an election had been delayed to 2015, barring Zao manages to _somehow_ win reelection. If Daichi manages to win 2015…"

"Then the most powerful military force in Avalice will be under our control." Daichi smirked. "Kyushei really knew what he was doing when he decided to run for election in Shang Mu…"

"Indeed." Lavender Doctor smirked. "But until then, we have business to take care of. Jocho, show Kireina the ropes around here. She will make a great asset to us later…"

"You got it, Doc." Jocho responded.

"And with that… The meeting has come to a close." Lavender Doctor spoke. "You two are hereby dismissed."

"Thank you, sir." Daichi and Jocho responded, leaving the room…

* * *

A large mechanical bear sat at his desk, looking at large, blue papers. "Alright… Energy input is a bit worrisome, but if this works, this may just be-"

"Boss, sir!" A tan rabbit ran in, interrupting his thoughts. He was holding a manila folder with a large stack of papers held within. "We've got something from the Scarves!"

"Hm?" Boss asked the rabbit, rolling up the papers. "Well, what is it?"

"It's regarding that lady from last year!" The rabbit spoke. "The feds are after her!"

"Hmm?!" Boss exclaimed. "Which government?!"

"Jinzhen, sir!" The rabbit responded. "Shang Mu may also be after her, too!"

Boss was silent for a second. Then he looked up. "Tell Yamato to investigate the detective or detectives after her." Boss spoke. "If we find out who is after her, we can hopefully get her safely before anyone else does."

"Yes, sir!" The rabbit responded, running out of the room soon after. Boss kept quiet for a while.

 _Yuki has to be recovered before anyone can get to her… If she isn't… Then I fear what may happen when the next threat emerges…_ The Boss thought as he looked at his blueprints. It was a large, yet compact laser-type weapon. _And hopefully, with some of these new innovations, I may not have to worry about it when it happens. I just hope Yuuto heals well before then…_


	9. Chapter 8: Lunch Break

**Chapter 8: Lunch Break**

 _Author's Note: Hey, sorry that this particular chapter didn't really... Release on-time... However, my time was occupied by other things, such as writing for SonicChaosEmerald's Tides of Chaos 3! Hopefully I'll have a more consistent schedule for writing from here on, so a more consistent schedule than "whenever it happens" should be something to look forward to later._

* * *

Minato was typing up her notes relating to what she had recently found within her investigation when she received a knock on her office's door.

"Ms. Hashimoto. It's me. We need to talk." The voice of Shane Thompson spoke past the door.

"The door is unlocked, sir!" Minato responded, the crow soon walking in. "Alright, you have anything?"

"We do." Shane answered, sitting down. "The perpetrator is not only an enemy of the Red Scarves, but also connected to your case. There is reason to believe this Ice Assassin had killed Kyushei."

Minato stared wordlessly at Shane for a few seconds before regaining composure. "...Alright... So how did you find it out? Your request to the Red Scarves came back successful?"

"Not necessarily." Shane shook his head. "I had a young Scarf go after her. She-"

"You _what?_ " Minato blurted. "Shane, why would you do that?! Are you saying that you actually sent a _child_ to go capture her?!"

"Take notes, more like." Shane responded. "And the Ice Assassin's Affinity uses the same kind of ice as what was found to kill Kyushei. So unless there happens to be another young, white female bird who just so happens to control the same kind of blue ice, then the Ice Assassin had to have killed Kyushei. The only question is _why."_

"...Well, what if the politicians she was killing had some sort of bad side to them?" Minato asked. "I mean, she might actually be a vigilante of sorts, you know."

"Ex _cuse_ me?" Shane asked, glaring at her. "Are you seriously suggesting that Leonel Ferdinand was a guilty man of something? But _what?_ What makes you think _that?!_ "

"...That's the thing..." Minato began. "If you heard me, you wouldn't believe me."

"Just tell me." Shane sternly replied. "If it means coming closer to finding her identity, then the closer we can bring her to justice."

"Kyushei was the Crimson King! I saw it with my own eyes when I looked at another incident with him!" Minato blurted. "If she killed someone like him, then surely the other politicians had something on them, right?"

Shane glared at Minato for a good few seconds. "I believe you when you say Kyushei is the Crimson King. I have no reason not to, given your abilities." Shane began. "However, I _don't_ believe you when you say that the other politicians they have _killed_ are not innocent. Leonel Ferdinand was an exemplary man and consistently donated _10% of his salary_ to charity _every damn month._ So, unless you can explicitly prove, without a _shadow of a doubt,_ that what they were doing is, by _any_ stretch of the imagination, immoral, then I can put in word to pardon her for her crimes. However, for now, I have to pursue her as-is, and _you_ run the thin line between staying clear or being investigated for any connection to her. _I suggest you change your tune fast._ " Shane snarled before leaving, Minato being rendered speechless before resting her head on her desk.

"...Oh man... What have I done..." Minato groaned. "I should've just kept my mouth shut..."

Minato looked at her notes on Kyushei before pouring herself more coffee and considering clocking out later. She needed to get her mind off of what just happened somehow, and yet-

Minato's thoughts were interrupted by her cell phone ringing, a call from her mother and father. "Well... Maybe I can talk to them about it..." Minato sighed before picking up the phone. "Hello? I'm at work right now, guys." Minato responded.

"Oh! Sorry to interrupt you! We just heard word about a terrible incident involving a young dragonblood!" Ms. Hashimoto replied. "All that, and then there was sightings of some sort of white beast carrying his body!"

"Mom, you know you shouldn't trust such sensational news headlines like that..." Minato chuckled before pausing a bit. _...Or should she? Given the whole incident with that Yamato guy, it wouldn't be too far-fetched..._

"Ah. It's just terrible, this whole violence on dragonbloods going around..." Minato's mother sighed. "I just hoped you would know what happened there. A white bird with a red scarf was seen chasing him down and everything..."

"Great, then it was the rookie Scarf Shane mentioned sending after the Ice Assassin..." Minato grumbled. "Of course it is."

"Excuse me? What's this about the Ice Assassin now?" Ms. Hashimoto asked. "Was he going after _her_ instead?"

"I believe so." Minato responded. "I just can't believe Shane, you know? He has no real limit to just _what_ he would do to get what he wants. It's horrible, really."

Minato's mother muttered to herself on the other line. "It seems to be that way, if he's not only willing to hire a Red Scarf to go after her, but also a _young_ Red Scarf." She spoke. "Anyways, is anything the matter?"

"Well... Yes and no." Minato replied. "I don't know if the Ice Assassin's motives are truly... You know... _Noble,_ as we initially speculated. What if she's just an anarchist who just so happened to kill the Crimson King as her first target? Who hired her, and why?"

"Well, it's as your father would say. You should be like a rock, and never roll!" Minato's mother quipped. "It's what our courts are based off of, right? Innocence until proven guilty? I'm sure she legitimately wanted to stop the Crimson King herself."

"...Wait... What if Kyushei had indirectly _led her_ on this path?" Minato speculated. "It... Wouldn't be out of character for him to do so. Cause as much damage to the governments of Avalice as possible, and throw everything into chaos... I wouldn't put it past him to do so."

"If that's what you're willing to believe, go for it! You should find something relating to it." Minato's mother smiled. "Thanks for answering the phone, I know how busy you are. Sorry about the interruption."

"Oh, no no no! It's alright, mom." Minato laughed. "Alright, I'll probably clock out for lunch in a bit. I'll talk to you later. Tell dad I said hi!"

"I will, sweetie! Good luck!" Ms. Hashimoto smiled before hanging up, leaving Minato alone once more. The panda exhaled a bit before walking out of the office, clocking out for lunch.

* * *

The white avian walked through the streets of Shang Mu with the Red Scarf she stole from Kaito not too long ago. Of course, red scarves as a fashion statement were moreso for protection for the common civilian, to deter any Red Scarves from attacking them in case they happen to be a target. But for her, the scarf served another purpose entirely: a trophy from one of her harder-fought battles aside from the fight against Kyushei only a year prior. She took a long sip of some dark iced coffee before accidentally bumping into a blue-haired panda. The coffee spilled on her vest, the falcon's eyes growing angrier.

"Oops! Sorry about that, ma'am!" The panda blushed, pulling out a napkin from her bag and passing it to her. "I hope there are no hard feel-"

" _If you know what's good for you, get lost._ "

"...I'm sorry?" The panda asked. "I-"

" _I said get lost._ " The falcon sharply responded, snatching the napkin and wiping herself, walking away.

"...What's her problem?" Minato asked herself, exhaling softly before going to the Cheng Fan Soup Shop, her preferred destination for lunch. A small establishment, it was also the home to an elder dragonblood, Cheng Fan. The elder had lived there for a few decades, although his appearances there wasn't consistent until rather recently. Since then, it was always open on weekdays, although some Red Scarves were seen entering it on weekends. When asked about it, Cheng would always deny any claims that he spoke to Red Scarves, but Minato knew better, and Cheng knew that too. The two were on equal terms on that front.

Minato entered the Soup Shop, alerting Cheng to her presence with a ringing bell on the top of the door.

"Ah, Minato. Welcome back." Cheng warmly smiled. "I presume you want an order of carrot soup?"

"Yes, please." Minato nodded before sitting down. "Can you get me a water, too?"

"A Water? Simple enough." Cheng responded before passing her a chilled bottle of water. "So how is the investigation coming along?"

"Well, it just got a recent development..." Minato began. "Apparently she attacked a dragonblood Red Scarf not too long ago. Beat the shit out of him and almost left him to die, but some white... _Thing_ saved him."

"...I'm... Sorry?" Cheng asked, although in a far more serious tone. "What did you just say?"

"She attacked a Red Scarf. No one got a good idea of what happened, but... It was a child." Minato added. "It was absolutely terrible, I-"

"The child should have known better than to go ahead and fight her. Last I heard, the Red Scarves in Shang Mu and Shuigang issued orders not to pursue her, although I received no word on anything with the Scarves in Shang Tu." Cheng spoke as he finished up the soup. "Who was he hired by?"

"The Federal Investigator of Jinzhen." Minato answered.

"...Goodness me. This has gotten far more tense than I thought." Cheng sighed. "If you need any help on your investigation, I will be sure to provide. Certainly far more than he could, anyways."

"Really? Do you know anything about the Crimson King?" Minato asked.

Cheng nodded. "I heard of an incident in a nearby retirement home. Someone named Kyo Dosukei was kidnapped by a shadowy figure about a decade ago, a bit before the Kakuchu could form." Cheng spoke before passing her the soup. "If need be, I can take you there myself."

"Thank you, sir!" Minato smiled before beginning to eat her soup. Cheng smiled before going upstairs for a bit, changing into a more casual getup. "I'll be ready when you are." Cheng nodded.

Once Minato finished, she paid the tab she had to. "Alright, Cheng. Let's go!" Minato grinned, the two leaving the Soup Shop for the retirement home...

* * *

 **Affinity Name:** Rewind  
 **Affinity User:** Minato Hashimoto  
 **Stage:** 0  
 **Element:** Wood  
 **Affinity Type:** Sensory  
The User can go unconscious, entering a dream-state in which they can see past events. The User can rewind time in this state as far back as their first awakening of this ability. (For Minato, it was 6 years old. Attempts to rewind further have consistently failed.) However, it leaves the User unconscious and unable to defend themselves in the real world. As such, the User needs protection to defend against outside threats.  
 **Power:** N/A  
 **Speed:** N/A  
 **Range:** E (Only affects User)  
 **Durability:** N/A  
 **Efficiency:** A


	10. Chapter 9: Purple Haze

**Chapter 9: Purple Haze**

* * *

Minato and Cheng arrive at a small, well-decorated building with a field on the outside with some Go boards and small stools to sit on as the elderly play with other opponents. Some of the residents would be seen with their aides as they go about their day, appreciating the sights and sounds outside. A sign would be seen to the side of the building: "Sanroku Retirement Home".

"So this is it?" Minato asked. "Who is Kyo Dosukei anyways?"

"Kyo Dosukei is the identity of the man known as Lavender Doctor. I do not know him myself, but I have kept track of this sort of stuff." Cheng began. "He's from Jinzhen, and has no living relatives, nor has he had any children of his own."

"If that's the case, what was he doing over here in Shang Mu? Wouldn't he be in a retirement home in Jinzhen, if that was the case?" Minato asked.

" _That_ I do not know." Cheng spoke, entering the building with Minato. A single, elderly receptionist would be seen clacking away at a computer before noticing the duo. "Hello! How may I help you two today?"

"Hi, I'm Detective Hashimoto with the Shang Mu Detective Agency. I need to see any files you have related to someone named 'Kyo Dosukei'. Do you know anyone like that? Purple rat, short?"

"Hm, I think we have him in the files, but... He was kidnapped about a decade ago, last I heard." The receptionist spoke before continuing to clack away. Minato soon turned to Cheng.

"Seems like you'll have to go back for quite a while." Cheng noted, sitting down.

"Yeah, this is... Not going to be a short excursion. Not for a while." Minato sighed.

"Ah, found it!" The receptionist chimed before printing a paper and handing it to Minato. On the paper was a picture of Kyo Dosukei, an elderly purple rat with pale red eyes and a stout figure. His expression was rather dejected, as if he had nothing much to live for. On the paper was a particular date of interest: "Last Seen: 16th October, 2003". "I do hope this will help you in whatever you're searching for."

"It should, thank you. Mind if I search the room?" Minato asked.

"Hm? But that room is occupied..." The receptionist spoke. "Recent person, too. I don't think they'd appreciate getting kicked out of their own room... Also, don't you need a search warrant?"

"True..." Minato thought before sitting down.

"So what will you do about it?" Cheng asked before Minato fell unconscious, softly breathing. "Hm. I see."

"...Is she okay?" The receptionist asked.

"Yeah, just give her a bit." Cheng spoke. However, a presence would soon fill the room, causing Cheng to turn, seeing a boar entering the room. He had sharp, white hair and pale red skin. He had a pair of pants on, and a white robe for the elderly.

"...I heard you... You wanted to search my room?" The boar spoke, staring down at Cheng.

"Surudoi, you don't have to let them search your room if you don't want them to. They don't have a warrant." The receptionist spoke.

"Oh, I know. Now, which one of you is the Affinity User?" Surudoi asked, glaring at the duo.

"...Whatever you're planning, I suggest getting lost before someone gets _hurt._ " Cheng responded, getting up. " _And that someone can very easily be you. Who are you?_ "

"The name's Surudoi Shin, and there are some things in there I _don't_ need anyone seeing."

"Umm... Surudoi, you don't-"

"Shut it, you _bitch!_ " Surudoi snapped before a white spike would be seen launching at her, piercing her throat.

"Gah... Wha..." The receptionist coughed, blood coming out of her mouth.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Cheng snapped. "She has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, but she _does..._ I'm afraid I can't let you search his room, King's orders!" Surudoi growled.

"Great, we had to deal with a Kakuchu member..." Cheng spoke, getting into a combat stance. "I'm afraid I will have to beat you _senseless_ out of principle alone."

"Hm, try me. Think you're hot shit?!" The boar spat at the dragonblood. "THEN YOUR HEAD WILL BE PIERCED ON A PIKE, DUMBASS!"

* * *

Minato awoke within a reflection of the retirement home's front office, soon beginning to go backwards in time. "Alright... It's gonna be a while before I manage to get the point when this Kyo Dosukei is here..." She spoke to herself. The flow of time began to quickly reverse, the movements of Cheng and Minato quickly reversing as the flow of time moved backwards. But to her, something just didn't feel right.

Eventually, she reached the date of the 16th of October, and she slowly began to skim through the hours until she found what she was looking for: Kyo Dosukei in the lobby... And none other than Kyushei's shadow himself standing near. The featureless body of the prior receptionist had a large pool of blood near their neck, the rat absolutely shaken.

" **Kyo Dosukei, you can do far better than simply remain here.** " Kyushei's silhouette spoke to the rat, sitting on the chair in front of him. " **Your gifts, don't you believe they can be better utilized elsewhere? Jinzhen had _abandoned_ you. Sandra had _abandoned_ you. I will _uplift_ you, to a higher purpose in life.**"

"No... You're lying!" Kyo coughed. "She's going to visit me later! I know it!"

" **Is she? Her last visit was in _1997._ She had moved out of Shang Mu a few years ago, back to Jinzhen after a divorce. Face it, Kyo. _She does not care for you._ However... _I do._** " Kyushei pointed out.

 _Who's Sandra?_ Minato thought as she watched the scene unfold. _Is she a friend of Kyo's? Must mean a lot to him if Kyushei's trying to take_ _advantage..._

"No... I..." Kyo began to sob, before breaking down completely. " _She couldn't have! I..._ "

" **It is okay, Kyo Dosukei. Leave your old life behind and join me. You will receive rewards _beyond your wildest imagination._** "

Kyo wiped his tears, soon standing up and opening his eyes, staring directly at the dragon... Before nodding his head. "I... I accept, sir." Kyo spoke. "...But what do you need someone like me for? Why..."

" **You are more important than you realize, especially to me. You were known for your quick wit and rather deadly Affinity, and I believe you could be of... _Great use._** " Kyushei spoke. " **In short, you are the first step of mine towards establishing our strength.** "

Kyushei turned to the window and stared out of it. " **In that direction... Towards the west... Lies the Tri-Kingdom Penitentiary.** " Kyushei noted. " **I plan on breaking the prisoners free from there to form my organization of Affinity Users, and you are but one of the essential ingredients for that plan. Should you succeed, I plan on granting you the greatest reward I could give you.** " Kyushei spoke before turning to him once more. " **We need to find another, however. Someone who can go in and act as a distraction as we break everyone free.** "

"And who do you suggest that to be?" Kyo asked, walking next to him as he looked up towards the tall figure. "He'd have to be downright _invincible_ to get through the defenses!"

" **Precisely. Someone incredibly strong, but easy to control.** " Kyushei noted. " **I had heard of rumors surrounding a beast in the far-northeastern parts of Shang Mu, something which singlehandedly laid an entire village to rubble. Should we get him on our side, we will be set for our mission.** "

"And what makes you believe that you can do this?" Kyo inquired, raising an eyebrow. "If he levels an entire village, then-"

" **Then he listens not to reason, but to _strength_ and _power_.**" Kyushei pointed out. " **And my Affinity will trump his, _no matter what it may be._** "

"...Are you really sure about that?"

" **I am absolutely positive. Now, we must proceed to the Yuufeng Forest. The sooner we can get to the general location of the village, the better.** " Kyushei spoke before leaving the building, Kyo following not soon after.

"...Then our next location is the Yuufe-" Minato began to speak, before collapsing on the floor, blood spewing from her neck. "Wh-what the?!" Minato coughed, curling up as she unsuccessfully attempted to stop the bleeding. "What's going on in the present?! I have to go back!" Minato cried as Rewind accelerated the past, moving closer and closer to the present day...

* * *

Surudoi grinned as he stood tall, spreading his body out to cover the most surface area it could before launching his steel spikes all over the room. Cheng grimaced as he blocked most of the spikes from hitting Minato with his body, except for one hitting her neck. Surudoi was left bare of any spikes on his body

"Hah! Got you right then and there!" Surudoi exclaimed. "Now you and your rather _lazy_ friend got fatally injured! Why did you even bring her here in the first place if all she's good for is _dying,_ hm?!"

"Because... I know she had finished her investigation..." Cheng coughed before plucking the spikes out of his body. Soon, the rest of the spikes popped loose from him as he stood tall to face Surudoi. "And that was all you could do? After all, you don't have any useful spikes on you at all..."

"HUH?! What the hell?!" The boar shouted as he stepped back. "That's your-"

"Yes." Cheng simply answered, interrupting his question. "And now that you're left wide open..." Cheng spoke before he struck Surudoi's chest cavity, causing him to fall backwards. "Your lungs will be paralyzed, leaving you unable to breathe until you go unconscious."

"Whu..." Surudoi coughed before trying to reach out, eventually falling completely unconscious.

Cheng shook his head. "What a joke. I know Affinities worsen with age, but _Offensive_ Affinities like this one typically have it the worst of them. He might have been a challenge a decade or so ago, but definitely not now." He spoke before heading to Minato and plucking out the spike in her neck, healing it up as flesh and blood returned to her wound, filling up the wound until no physical damage could remain. He eventually approached the receptionist, doing the same to her.

Minato coughed as she quickly got up, breathing heavily as she looked around. "Wha... What's going on?!" Minato cried out.

"It's all taken care of." Cheng spoke, getting up. "It's a former Kakuchu member, tried to stop the investigation."

"...Well then, seems like word has gotten out about what I'm doing." Minato sighed. "Either way, I'm looking to go towards northeastern Shang Mu. Apparently someone was recruited by the Crimson King there."

"...Right." Cheng responded before opening the door. "Watch your step. Spikes all over the place."

Minato nodded before leaving the area with Cheng, but a police officer and a medical team was there at the scene not too long after they left the door.

"Name and identification, now!" One of the officers barked.

"Detective Hashimoto, the man with me is Cheng Fan, and he has already taken care of the assailant." Minato spoke before flashing her badge. "Who called?"

"Other residents and employees in the retirement home! This place isn't exactly _solitary_ you know." The officer spoke before approaching Cheng. "You an Affinity User?"

"Yes. Wood Element, Stage 1." Cheng spoke. "My ability is to heal other people's wounds. That's all it is."

"Sure about that?" The officer asked, raising an eyebrow at Cheng, to which the elder dragonblood nodded.

"Sir, just let off of him." Minato spoke. "He's innocent in this."

"...Right. He's comin' with us for questioning." The officer spoke before pulling out a pair of handcuffs. "Come with me, old man!"

"Wait! I have a _restaurant_ to manage!" Cheng exclaimed as he was arrested. "You _will_ see legal action!"

"Right." The officer spoke before pulling Cheng away.

"OFFICER! LET HIM GO!" Minato shouted after him, but Cheng was put into the car already.

"Lass, we're just doing what we have to do to protect national interest." The officer snorted before getting in the police car.

"And what about the actual assailant?!" Minato asked.

"The others will deal with him." The officer spoke before driving away. Soon after, Surudoi was pulled out by a stretcher and put into an ambulance, speeding off.

"...Cheng..." Minato breathed before sighing. "Sorry I can't do anything about this... I just hope you'll be alright."

Minato left the area towards the Soup Shop, getting back to her car. All the while, a female bobcat was watching her leave the area, wearing a white _Arachnoman_ graphic tee tucked into blue jeans, which were in turn tucked into brown boots.

"Yo, Yamato. Got somethin' for ya!" The bobcat spoke into an earpiece, leaning on the brick wall on an apartment building. "The detective? Apparently she's going to go towards Northeastern Shang Mu. Likely near the Yuufeng Forest... Right, I'll let ya take care of the rest." The bobcat yawned, leaning back as she hung up on the earpiece. "Let's see if she's got anything on Yuki. Ancients know Yuuto needs it right now..."

* * *

 **Affinity Name:** Violet Plague  
 **Affinity User:** Kyo Dosukei (Lavender Doctor)  
 **Stage:** 0  
 **Element:** Wood  
 **Affinity Type:** Bound, Close-Range  
The User can turn grow a fleshy bulb upon their hand and throw it as a projectile. The flesh bulb is filled with poisonous purple gas of unknown composition, which inhaling any amount of immediately collapses a victim's lungs, killing them in seconds. The Plague can be assisted via air currents and air conditioning, allowing it to spread throughout an entire complex and kill untold numbers of people.  
 **Power:** B  
 **Speed:** C  
 **Range:** C  
 **Durability:** N/A  
 **Efficiency:** C


	11. Chapter 10: An Announcement

**So! This is a bit of a... Different chapter.**

 **After a bit of thought, especially with how the story is going, I have decided to can this version of Frosted Wings 2.**

 **...But does this mean the story is dead and done for? No. Absolutely not.**

 **I have had several problems with the story, particularly the pacing. I want to make it a bit faster, much like three of the FW chapters that were made (ie "Sheer Heart Attack" and "Take Me Out") and I can't necessarily do that without changing the story significantly.**

 **It's safe to say that those three chapters will remain. However, I want to redo some things to keep a consistent quality.**

 **Frosted Wings 2 is dead.**

 **Long live Frosted Wings 2.**

 **(Credits:**

 **Daichi Yamauchi, Kaito Maki, Alice, Nella, Sandra: ItalianGamer97**

 **Jai Ketsueki: Ultrablockstar**

 **Coral Tea: MewMewPsychic**

 **Canon FP Characters: GalaxyTrail)**


End file.
